When The Dragon Broke
by Ny Batteri
Summary: The Oblivion Crisis was just the beginning. The end of all times is near. Ancient Towers must be found, mythical Stones placed atop them, a sinister doomsday cult stopped, before time runs out. This is Tamriel's last stand. Sequel to 'The Daedric Child'.
1. Prologue

_In the smoky catacombs beneath the city where Sotha Sil forged the future with his arcane clockwork apparatus, something unforeseen happened. An oily bubble seeped from a long trusted gear and popped. Immediately, the wizard's attention was drawn to it and to the chain that tiny action triggered. A pipe shifted half an inch to the left. A tread skipped. A coil rewound itself and began spinning in a counter direction. A piston that had been thrusting left-right, left-right, for millennia suddenly began shifting right-left. Nothing broke, but everything changed._

"_It cannot be fixed now," said the sorcerer quietly._

_(2920, Evening Star)_

_There's a planetary conspiracy against the likes of you and me, in this idiot constituency of the Moon_

_('We Call Upon The Author To Explain', Nick Cave, 2007)_

_The Story So Far_

Camri Everlight, Falas Assurrani and Ariel Lasaille were three heroes bound by a mysterious ancient prophecy – 'Three heroes, brought together by a great event, to take on an even larger event'. Camri, an Imperial outlaw and wildman (but acknowledged as one of the Empire's finest warriors in several combat disciplines) was broken out of the Imperial Prison by the Argonian agent Areen in an attempt to help the Argonians discover the nature of a mythical artifact, The Marsh Spirit, which would allow them to wage war against the Imperial presence in the Nibenay Basin and reclaim land that rightfully belonged to the Argonians. During the journey, he encountered Ariel Lasaille, a young Breton with an incredible talent for mysticism, particularly in the creative use of telekinesis, as well as a powerful gift of foresight and prophecy, and Falas Assurrani, a Dunmer assassin of the Morag Tong of Morrowind, hired to eliminate Camri and Ariel.

The three came together after it was discovered that the Imperial campaign to acquire the Marsh Spirit (which was destroyed by Assurrani) was actually that of a corrupt General, Anvius Seminus, attempting to take lands in Black Marsh and Elsweyr for his own gain. It was at this point that Assurrani learnt of the Prophecy, and made peace with Camri and Ariel, who quickly became close friends with him after witnessing him turning has back on Seminus as soon as he learnt of the corruption.

The prophecy itself transpired to be that the three would defeat the necromancer Mannimarco once and for all – the prophecy had been created by Meridia, and it was Meridia's daughter, the Daedra Latta, who would fight alongside them in this quest and ultimately kill Mannimarco. Mannimarco's semi-divine powers and immortality were nullified by the removal of a powerful gemstone, the Mantella, which was found in a remote fortress in Skyrim called the Temple of the Throat of the World, and then spirited away to the Shivering Isles – Mannimarco had drawn his power from the Mantella, similar to Dagoth Ur's relationship to the Heart of Lorkhan, and the Septim dynasty's connection to the Amulet of Kings.

Following Mannimarco's defeat, Ariel returned to High Rock, becoming weary of the dangerous and kinetic lifestyle that was adventuring with Camri and Assurrani, and mentally scarred from severe mistreatment and abuse in the Imperial Prison at the hands of a vicious Imperial Watch captain. But, soon after the epic final showdown in Bruma where Mannimarco was finally killed, an Oblivion gate opened outside the city, betraying a new threat, one where the existence of the mortal world itself was in danger…

'_A New Threat' – for the eyes of Chancellor Ocato only_

_From – Brother Nu-Hatta, Great Thinker_

_It started with the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan to enable the defeat of Dagoth Ur._

_Within days of this event occurring, the first Oblivion gate opened outside Kvatch._

_Through a long series of events, this led to the destruction of the Amulet of Kings. Perhaps you may already know this, but there is a high probability of these two events being connected._

_The campaign to defeat Mannimarco led to the removal of the Mantella (Numidium's heart) from the mortal world, Mundus._

_And you wonder why an Oblivion Gate has now opened outside Bruma?_

_The Lunar Lattice, the barrier between Oblivion and Mundus, is a fragile one. The Stones of Ada-Mantia are crucial to its maintenance. And now three of these stones have been destroyed._

_You must return the Mantella to its tower as soon as possible. Then, we can begin. The fact that the barriers between Mundus and Oblivion are this weak show that there cannot be more than two Stones maintaining them. My guess at the identity of these two Stones would be Ada-Mantia itself and Tree-Sap._

_Grandmaster,_

…_should the Stones of Ada-Mantia need to be replaced and the Towers returned to full power, they must all be found. Two of the Towers are unknown to us in location, but the rest are well-known monuments across Tamriel, as has been deduced from their ancient names – Ada-Mantia or Ur Tower (Direnni Tower, High Rock) Red-Tower (Red Mountain, Morrowind) White-Gold (White Gold Tower) Snow-Throat (Throat Of The World, Skyrim), Crystal-Like-Law (Crystal Tower, Alinor) Walk-Brass (Numidium) Tree-Sap (Falinesti, Valenwood) and finally Orichalc, which I am unaware of the location or the nature of._

_Will keep you informed on the cult behind the ceremony._

_MA_

_Grandmaster,_

_Our worst fears have been realised. The end of the world as we know it is approaching. Gather the champions of the Mannimarco incident and Radash gra-Moran to Cloud Ruler Temple immediately._

_Still awaiting word from the Emperor._

_Chancellor Ocato_


	2. A New Threat

**2 – A New Threat**

_Bruma, 4E45, the 27__th__ of Rain's Hand_

Camri Everlight and Falas Assurrani ran. Their destination – a remote shrine to Sheogorath near Leyawiin. Chaos erupted all around them. The sky had turned a deep blood red, and gale-force winds blasted grey clouds across it. Lightning streaked across the heavens, and the ground was bathed in a horrifying red light. All around them, the pair could see fires and ominous red magical lights marking yet more Oblivion gates opening. Occasionally, a Daedra, usually a Scamp or Dremora foot soldier, would impede their path but they were quickly taken down by Assurrani's incredible marksmanship skills.

They could not stop to help fight off the invasion. Time was against them. A gemstone had been removed from Tamriel and taken to the Shivering Isles – a gemstone that had transpired to be paramount to Tamriel's safety. They _had_ to get it back.

Earlier, the pair had been celebrating a victory in Bruma when an Oblivion Gate had ruptured from the ground outside the city gate. Bafflement quickly turned to decisive action.

"We've got this one!" Captain Burd, the guard captain, had called. "Harmus, Korst, Sterrus, follow me! I know how to shut these things down!"

With that, the fearless Nord and three of the city guard had vanished into the portal as Daedra began to spill out of it. The remaining town guard fought them off, whilst the militia, led by the Imperial Battlemage captain, set off to deal with another gate that had opened near Cloud Ruler Temple.

"Don't worry about the Gates!" Camri had called to them. The Battlemage captain, Larand Pasqual, turned around and challenged him. A sixty-year-old Breton, kitted out in ebony armour, with long, flowing grey hair and a huge bushy beard, Pasqual was a formidable war wizard and acknowledged as one of the finest warriors at the Empire's disposal.

"Camri, these infernal gates are vomiting Daedra all over the damn city! We've just stopped Bruma from almost being destroyed, and I intend to do the same again!"

"Exactly. Stay here and protect the people. We're dealing with the gates," Camri said.

"How? How can you close all these gates down?"

"The Mantella" Camri said simply. Pasqual had been alongside Camri when he had acquired the gemstone, an azure-coloured stone the size of a human head, from a remote temple atop a mountain in Skyrim.

"It's the Amulet of Kings again," Camri continued. "We get the Mantella back and this shit ends"

Pasqual nodded in understanding. "Good luck to you, Camri. I know you won't let us down"

A bandit leapt out onto the road in front of the pair, wielding an axe and shield.

Camri and Assurrani stopped in their tracks – Assurrani drew a bead on the bandit with his bow whilst Camri approached him, sword drawn. Camri Everlight had barely had chance to breathe for the last few weeks, and with dirty skin, shoulder-length straggly brown hair and the beginnings of a beard, not to mention the patches of dried blood and burn marks covering his leather overcoat and huntsman trousers, he cut an imposing figure. The glass longsword and Elven bow he carried betrayed the fact that Camri Everlight was not a man to be trifled with, and behind him stood Falas Assurrani – lean and muscular, wearing a suit of netch-leather armour from his native Morrowind that concealed a wiry strength, and the gaze of his unblinking red eyes never leaving the bandit.

"You see all of these Oblivion gates? We're trying to stop it. You attack us, you'll have the destruction of Tamriel on your conscience," Camri said coolly. "And you'll also have an arrow sticking out of your forehead"

The bandit froze momentarily then fled back into the undergrowth. Assurrani placed the arrow back in his quiver and ran over to Camri.

"Silver-tongued as ever, my friend" Assurrani said. "Which way around the City do you think will be safest?"

"We're going through it," Camri replied, immersed in thought.

"Are you mad? You can see the fires and Oblivion gates from here!"

"There's some stuff we need to summon Sheogorath. We need to go via the Market"

Assurrani shook his head in a combination of amazement and despair. "No matter how crazy your ideas are they always seem to work in the end"

Still running, bathed in the sickly red twilight caused by the Oblivion gates, the pair reached the road that circled the Rumare and the Imperial City, when all of a sudden an Oblivion gate ruptured out of the ground in front of them in a burst of blinding white light.

"Get back!" Camri shouted, retreating from the gate as a strange fiery portal materialised in its centre. Assurrani reacted instantly and nailed a Scamp with his Elven bow just as it emerged from the portal.

"Get past it, Camri!" Assurrani shouted. "We haven't got time for this!"

Camri nodded and bolted for the Oblivion gate that was blocking their way when a frost atronach materialised from it. Camri had never seen one in the flesh before – a great, hulking beast about twice his size with a body that seemed to be made entirely of ice, with plumes of vapour spitting from its surface. Looking around for Assurrani, Camri saw the Dunmer caught up in his own fight against two Dremora. Camri brandished his sword and squared up to the enormous creature. It cast a bolt of icy magic at him, but he leapt to the ground in a forward roll to dodge the spell, jumping to his feet and swinging his sword two-handed, shattering one of the atronach's hands. The atronach swung a huge fist at Camri, but he ducked just in time to avoid the blow, ramming his sword into the atronach's torso. The atronach reeled back, visibly wounded, with Camri's sword stuck fast in its icy body.

Camri swore to himself. The only other weapon he had was his bow – useless. Then, in a moment of clarity, he charged forwards and shoulder-barged the atronach as hard as he could. As he made contact with the creature, unbearable cold shot through his body, numbing and almost paralysing him, but the atronach tumbled backwards into the fiery Oblivion gate and was vapourised instantly.

Retrieving his sword, Camri heard an inhuman scream as Assurrani struck the second of the two Dremora footsoldiers in the jugular vein with an arrow.

"You alright?" Assurrani said, running over to his friend, who was still shivering and unable to run. Camri nodded and took a bottle of mead from his backpack, taking several long gulps.

"Nordic courage," Camri said, handing the bottle to Assurrani who finished its contents. "We've got ourselves into some serious shit, Falas"

"Tell me about it. You think we can do this?"

"All we have to do is get to the shrine alive. We sorted Sheogorath's problems out for him – he owes us a favour. I don't know why this one stone caused this invasion of Oblivion gates, but if we undo it, it will at least give us chance to breathe"

"This isn't like the first time either," Assurrani said whilst Camri continued to catch his breath. "Ever seen an Oblivion gate like that one before?"

Assurrani pointed across to a corner of City Isle, where two Daedroths were prowling around a burning stone archway with a dazzling orange light in its centre.

"That'll be one of Molag Bal's," Camri explained. "His name literally translates as Firestone. That looks like a Peryite gate over there…"

"So it's not just Dagon this time? Thanks, Camri, that's really reassuring"

_Guild of Mages, Orsinium, High Rock_

The forces of Oblivion that had threatened the city-state of Orsinium had been repelled quickly and with little consequence, particularly the Gate that had opened on the street in the City's Arcane Quarter between the Mages' Guild building and a guardhouse. A group comprising Orc militia, Imperial Legion guards and Mages' Guild members adept in war magic had entered the Gate and neutralised its occupants with overwhelming force – no later than ten minutes after the team had entered, the Gate had collapsed, spilling out every member of the group who had entered the Gate, the captain, an Orc warrior, holding two trophies – a Sigil Stone and a Daedric breastplate that he had liberated from a fallen Dremora.

Word had quickly spread of this second coming of the Oblivion Crisis, but Orsinium, and many other of High Rock's city-states such as Wayrest and Daggerfall, had fared well. The indigenous population, a melting pot of Orc and Redguard warriors and Breton mages and war wizards, was more than capable of holding their own against a Daedric invasion.

Radash gra-Moran watched this unfolding from his balcony at the top of the grand five-storey Mages' Guild building in Orsinium. It was his office but also his sanctuary away from the constant spell practicing and general chaos that inhabited the rest of the Guildhall.

Gra-Moran was a most unusual breed – an Orc scholar. Unlike most Orcs his fighting ability was rudimentary at best, and unlike most residents of High Rock he wasn't a particularly adept spellcaster. But as a living library, a repository of knowledge on divine and arcane matters, he was bettered by nobody in Tamriel – nobody he had ever met, at least. Along with an elderly Battlemage, Larand Pasqual, and a young woman called Ariel Lasaille, he had been rated as one of the top three minds of High Rock.

But now, his mind was in a rare state of confusion. The reason for the Oblivion invasion was something he had spent his entire professional career researching. On the horizon, Radash could see the magnificent Direnni Tower, still intact, still standing as a pillar of the mortal world. He could not help but feel he was looking at the last Stone…

"Mr gra-Moran?" a voice asked from behind Radash, startling him. The Orc spun around and his fear instantly vanished.

"Ah, I recognise you," Radash said to the Redguard Blade stood before him. "Sartan, isn't it? You were at Cloud Ruler Temple during the Oblivion crisis"

"The very same," Sartan replied. "It's good to see you again. And about Cloud Ruler Temple…"

"The thought had just crossed my mind that I might be called upon soon," Radash said. "Are you ready to leave now?"

Radash gra-Moran had been a semi-permanent resident of Cloud Ruler Temple during the Oblivion crisis, where his knowledge of the more arcane parts of reality had been invaluable to Martin Septim's attempts to unravel the Mysterium Xarxes.

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Sartan said. "We'd better hurry up. Jauffre reckons you might be the only one who knows how to sort this mess out. Do you know what's going on?"

"I think so… Have you read my book, by any chance?"

"I tried to. I have to be honest, it went way over my head. Jauffre and Martin Septim both tried to get us all to read it"

"Did you get the basic concept, though? There are eight Towers, each with a counterpart Stone, holding Mundus together and keeping Oblivion at bay"

"I got that bit, yes"

"Well, the fact that this is happening means that my worst fears are realised – the Stones are being destroyed one by one and can no longer maintain the barrier between Mundus and Oblivion"

Camri Everlight and Falas Assurrani raced through the Imperial City, having entered by the Market District gate, Camri stopping only amidst the chaos to rummage through a pile of crates to locate three items – a ball of yarn, a lettuce and a lesser soul gem. The Imperial City was faring well against the assault – no gates had opened in the City itself and the huge stone walls and barricaded gates were holding the Daedra at bay.

Running down to the Waterfront, the pair had commandeered a pair of canoes with little difficulty – they were technically still in the Emperor's service - and had set off towards the Sheogorath shrine.

A few hours later, the pair had just passed Bravil, whose outer walls had been broken down and seemed on the verge of complete destruction, but they knew they could not stop to help. Camri indicated a small inlet and the pair rowed their canoes up it, running them aground then leaping out and completing the journey to the Sheogorath shrine on foot.

The shrine was deserted thanks to a nearby Oblivion gate. The Mad God's worshippers had fled to the comparitive safety of the fortress-town of Leyawiin – a few Scamps prowled around the woodlands but Assurrani quickly dealt with them.

Camri placed the three items he had taken from the Market District at the base of the altar, and waited. A chirrupy, accented voice cut through the air.

"_Well, finally I have the pleasure of being summoned by Camri Everlight! You should know that Latta is settling in well here. Thank you for not getting her killed"_

"Time to repay the favour, Sheogorath" Camri called to the statue.

"_Really? Well… What in the blazes is going on in Tamriel? Is Dagon troubling you again?"_

"Yes, and the rest. We need the Mantella back. I believe you have it. It's the only way we can stop this. Do a favour to the mortal world…"

"_Alright, alright, I don't really need it anyway. Close your eyes and hold out your hands…"_

Camri obliged, and felt a huge weight materialise in his hands. Opening his eyes, he saw the Mantella – a huge azure-coloured gemstone, easily the size of a human head. The last time he had seen it, he had liberated it from a remote mountaintop temple and ensured it to none other than Sheogorath's Guard Captain, Golden Saint Commander Staada, who had taken it out of the mortal realm to neutralise Mannimarco's semi-divine powers.

"Camri, it's stopped…" Assurrani said. Silence fell over Blackwood. The Oblivion gate nearby had collapsed, leaving nothing but a charred patch of ground where it had once stood.

"Not a moment too soon, either," Camri commented. "We should take this stone to Grandmaster Jauffre. I imagine he's busy concocting a plan as we speak…"

All around Cyrodiil, the population of the Imperial Province breathed a sigh of relief as the Oblivion gates all closed, the sky cleared, daylight flooded over the lands, and the Legion, town guards and militia finished off any straggling Daedra. The relief was soon replaced by confusion – what had just happened? Why had Oblivion gates suddenly appeared all over Tamriel? And why had they vanished as quickly as they had appeared?


	3. The End Of All Times

_Three years earlier, Vvardenfell, Morrowind_

The apparatus built by the Dwemer to maintain the Heart of Lorkhan was a masterpiece of engineering in itself, a device seemingly able to create magicka out of thin air.

An enormous selection of soul gems and Welkynd stones, imported from Cyrodiil, had been used to store its output over many years. With the Heart of Lorkhan gone, magicka literally spilt out of the device.

These gems now lined the walkways of the Heart Chamber, their tapered ends all pointing towards a strange red crystal attached to the heart apparatus. It was known as the Bloodstone of Akatosh, thought to contain the essence of the Time Dragon himself. After a search that had taken hundreds of years, it had been found.

"Let us begin" an elderly Altmer said coolly as he stood facing the central platform of the Heart Chamber, before he recited prose in a deep, loud voice – the words of a dark ritual, spoken in an ancient, long-lost language.

A spectacular chain reaction began. The spell discharged the energy in the soul gem, which radiated outwards, focused mostly at the centre of the chamber but also to each side, to cause a similar effect in the gems surrounding it. For the next thirty seconds, the Bloodstone was bombarded with magicka. Then, silence fell.

The Altmer turned to the crowd assembled in the Heart Chamber.

"It is done, my friends. In one thousand and eight days, dawn will be reborn"

_Cloud Ruler Temple, Cyrodiil, the present day_

Assembled in the ornate Great Hall of Cloud Ruler Temple was a selection of leaders, warriors and scholars – the men and women who were going to save the world. The Hall still bore scorch marks on its floor from its time as the epicentre of the resistance against the Oblivion Crisis, and now with this new threat, the Great Hall seemed to have assumed this as a permanent purpose.

Seated at the tables around the Hall were Grandmaster Jauffre, Radash gra-Moran, who had just arrived from Orsinium, General Itius Hayn of the Imperial Legion and the rulers of the Provinces of Tamriel – Chancellor Ocato, King Penald of Hammerfell, Steward Aldaroth of Valenwood, King Jararka of Black Marsh, King Hlaalu Helseth of Morrowind, Duke Jesper the White of Skyrim and Queen Aurelia Thierry of High Rock. The leaders of Elsweyr and the Summerset Isle were noticeable by their absence.

And finally, sat on their own, were Camri Everlight and Falas Assurrani. Assurrani was clutching a cloth sack which contained the Mantella.

Chancellor Ocato was the first to speak.

"Leaders of Tamriel, I'm sure you are all aware of the recent re-insurgence of the Oblivion Crisis. I understand the losses were much lower than expected and that the people of the Empire fought well. I'm also sure that you are surprised, both as to why it happened and why it ended so suddenly.

"The stone that Messrs Everlight and Assurrani have with them, the Mantella, is the key to this. It was spirited away from the mortal world to aid in the defeat of the necromancer Mannimarco. This was the key to the second Oblivion invasion – as soon as the Mantella was returned to the mortal world, the gates closed. I'm sure I have just confused you further, so I will let Radash gra-Moran explain"

The Orc stood nervously and began speaking. He had given hundreds of lectures before, but never to the leaders of Tamriel…

"Now. Does anyone know of the Ada-Mantian Stones?" Radash asked. He was greeted by a room full of shaking heads and blank expressions.

"Well, you are mistaken. Direnni Tower, the Amulet of Kings, the Heart of Lorkhan… one of the Ada-Mantian Stones is in this very room. The Mantella. The study of these stones has been my life's work – there are eight of them, and they are old, really old, mostly dating back to the Dawn Era.

"In the beginning there was Akatosh and his arrival in Mundus, the mortal world. He arrived in a vessel known variously as the Zero Stone, Ada-Mantia and Ur Tower, which landed on the Isle of Balfiera of High Rock, where it now lies at the centre of Direnni Tower, or Adamantine Tower or whatever you wish to call it. Akatosh left the Zero Stone behind to act as an avatar of his presence in Mundus, negating the need for him to be here to maintain it"

"Like the Heart of Lorkhan?" King Helseth asked.

Radash smiled at the Dunmer. "Exactly like the Heart of Lorkhan! In fact, the two were so alike that the Heart of Lorkhan is also known as the First Stone, and the two share their functions so much that they essentially became one Stone. One would think that the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan would have brought about the end of the world, but that was not the case because Ada-Mantia still stands. For explanation, you need just look to the fact that Lorkhan is essentially the god of space, whilst Akatosh is the god of time, and space and time are linked – without a change in time, there cannot be a change in space. Ever since Creation was stabilised at the end of the Dawn Era, the Zero and First Stones have shared function.

"The remaining six Stones, however, have a different purpose. If the Zero and First Stones are the anchors of Mundus, the remaining six are its stabilisers. When partnered with their six counterpoint Towers, they display two powers – they maintain the Lunar Lattice, the barrier between our world and Oblivion, and to stabilise time – to stop another Dragon Break from occurring"

"Dragon Break?" King Penald asked, perplexed.

"A bizarre phenomenon of cosmic arcana. A re-alignment of space and time. Something that the mortal mind struggles to comprehend. They occur when an event happens of such magnitude that Tamriel would not be able to continue along its pre-determined path, which is why some have tied them in with the Elder Scrolls. There have been many smaller Dragon Breaks, such as the Warp In The West and the apotheosis of the Tribunal Gods of Morrowind, and the appearance of Akatosh during Mehrunes Dagon's invasion of the Imperial City. Even the disappearance of the Dwarves has been linked to a Dragon Break, but of course the big one was in the First Era, when time seemed to destabilise, maybe even stop, then begin again one thousand and eight years later. It exists merely as a period of time where no-one can remember what happened. Then you have the Warp in the West, where several events all happened at once, but only one _actually_ occurred"

"You're right about the mortal mind struggling to comprehend them" Jesper the White remarked. Radash continued speaking.

"After this great Dragon Break, the Stones were paired with their Towers to allow them to harness power over Mundus and prevent a similar event happening again. But over the years, stones have been lost. The Heart of Lorkhan and the Amulet of Kings are both gone, and several of the other Stones have been taken from their resting places. This is why the Lunar Lattice is so weak – this is why the Oblivion crisis happened again. It's worth noting that whilst all the Towers existed before the Dragon Break, the Stones did not"

King Jararka, the Argonian, spoke. "So, Mr gra-Moran. I want to make sure I've got this right. The mortal world is held together by Adamantine Tower in High Rock and what remains of the Heart of Lorkhan? And these are the Zero and First Stones?"

Radash nodded. "Correct"

"And these other six Stones uphold the Lunar Lattice, and when paired with their Towers they stabilise time and prevent these Dragon Breaks from happening?"

"Again, correct on all accounts"

"So, and this may be an obvious question, but what are the Stones? And where are the Towers?"

"The location of every Tower is not precisely known. I have mentioned Direnni Tower and Red Mountain can also be considered a 'Tower'. Likewise, there is Snow-Throat in Skyrim. Then there is White Gold Tower in the Imperial City and Crystal Tower in Alinor in the Summerset Isles. Numidium is also a Tower. There are two remaining Towers – Falinesti, or Tree-Sap, and Orichalc. I do not know where these towers are, or even what they are.

"The Stones, I know even less about. I know that there is the Amulet of Kings, or more precisely the Chim-el Adabal, which is lost. There is the Mantella, which we have. And that is all I know. I should add that the Mantella's home is at the heart of Numidium"

"Then why did we find it at the top of the Snow-Throat tower?" Assurrani asked.

Radash glanced knowingly at Assurrani. "Perhaps, Falas, it was hidden there to stop it being manipulated"

Assurrani said nothing.

"I've got a question, too," said Steward Aldaroth, of Valenwood. "What do the Stones and Towers actually, you know, do? How do they work?"

"I cannot possibly tell you how they work. The entire system, all eight Towers and their Stones, was gradually put in place over thousands of years, spanning several eras. Some were built by the Ayleids with the purpose of making a connection with the divine, and some were built by the Aldmer, the ancient race of Elves who first arrived in Tamriel, who built them for 'time cocooning', that is, stabilising time, through a connection to Akatosh. A disruption in space requires _time _to progress, so it can come to pass, so if time is stabilised, so is space. And obviously, Numidium is the newest of the Towers but the Mantella is just as ancient as any of the other Stones"

"The way I see this problem," Hlaalu Helseth said, "The Lunar Lattice is teetering on the brink. One Stone can make a difference. Now we have the Mantella back, and can place it in Numidium's heart to restore it to its full power, the problem will be solved – for now, at least"

"I'm afraid that the Ada-Mantian Stones play a very small piece in a much greater puzzle" Chancellor Ocato said ominously. "The reason you were all called here is because we received a report from the Morrowind chapter of the Blades very recently which made for disconcerting reading. Another Dragon Break is going to happen"

The room fell silent.

"But this will not be a simple re-aligning of events. Someone, somewhere, performed a ritual to set wheels in motion. One thousand and eight days after that ritual was performed, the effects of the first great Dragon Break will be undone. What this means in a practical sense is that time will reverse to the point in the First Era when the Dragon Break occurred.

"And do not simply think that everything built since the First Era will suddenly vanish or anything like that. Everything that has happened since the First Era will vanish from history. The world as we know it will simply cease to exist. The end of all times is near"

King Jararka was the first to speak. "So I'm guessing all the Stones have to be in place by then to stop this from happening. How long do we have?"

"That's the worst part," Jauffre said. "We don't know. We have to work quickly – we don't know much time we have. Now is the time to tell us anything you think may help us"

"You mentioned a Tower called Falinesti" Aldaroth of Valenwood said. "That's a city in Valenwood. I'm assuming the Tower itself to either be the palace or the temple. I will also order an agent of the court of Valenwood to join you here in Cyrodiil. Her name is Lasatel, she is our best treasure-hunter. Knows our province like the back of her own hand. I'm sure she will be an invaluable aid to you"

Jararka spoke next. "The Court of Argonia has possessed a strange stone for some time, but now I think I know what it is. It is conical in shape, made from a smoky grey crystal and has the Daedric rune for the number 4 engraved on its base"

"I believe that is the Snow-Throat stone" Radash confirmed.

"I can get you to the top of White Gold Tower whenever you need to go there" Chancellor Ocato said.

"If all the Stones need to be back in place when the Dragon Break comes," Camri asked, "What do we do about the Chim-el Adabal?"

"Good question, Camri" Jauffre said. "In our archives we have a document discovered aeons ago, written by the Psijic Order, the greatest living repository of knowledge in Tamriel's history. It details how the Chim-el Adabal might be reconstructed"

"I know that most of the Stone is still there" Camri said. "That's pretty common knowledge, isn't it? The stone is in the shape of a nine-pointed star, but only one of the points contained any sort of power, and that was broken off to make the Amulet of Kings"

"Yes, but the remaining eight points _can _be made to act in the same way," Jauffre said. "This document is entitled 'Using the Ada-Mantian Towers to Save White Gold' which is a rather grand title, and also betrays the process involved. The Chim-el Adabal can draw power from the other five lesser Stones if they are all in place"

"It's quite an involved process," Radash said. "Treated Welkynd stones must be placed atop each of the seven lesser towers surrounding the Imperial City. It's a common misconception that White Gold Tower is the Ada-Mantian Tower – it is actually the whole city. The central location of White Gold Tower at the heart of Tamriel should be noted too – the Tower, along with the Chim-el Adabal, is the most powerful of them all bar Ur Tower and holds the most influence over Mundus. There is a problem though – White Gold Tower can only become active _once all the other towers are active. _That is where the battle will be won or lost – it is the most powerful of the lesser Towers because it acts as a conduit for the energies provided by the other Towers. Its central position in Tamriel is not a coincidence"

"I'm sure the Mages' Guild will be an invaluable aid. I will instruct them to begin work on preparing the Imperial City for this re-energisation at once," Chancellor Ocato said. "In the meantime, Jauffre, I trust the Blades are still in possession of Numidium?"

"Only the torso, but that's the important bit, if Radash is correct" Jauffre replied. "It's hidden in the catacombs far below this temple. Camri, Falas, will you please hand over the Mantella to me? I know you have trust issues with figures of authority…"

"We trust you, Grandmaster" Assurrani said, standing up and handing the cloth-covered Mantella to Jauffre.

"You can all return to your homelands, leaders," Chancellor Ocato said authoritatively, getting to his feet. "Prepare for the worst. Expect everything. If you find _anything_ relating to the Ada-Mantian Stones, you must let us know at once. This is not the time to be pursuing personal agendas. The end of all time is near, but that doesn't mean we can't have a damn good shot at stopping it!"

"I shall have the Court of Argonia's Stone sent to you, Grandmaster" King Jararka said as he left.

As the Kings, Queens, Dukes and Stewards filed out of Cloud Ruler Temple's great hall, Hlaalu Helseth waited just outside the grand double door, trying to catch the gaze of Assurrani. Camri spotted this and nudged his friend.

"Helseth looks like he wants a word with you"

As Assurrani quickly walked towards Helseth, Camri turned to face the remaining three – Chancellor Ocato, Jauffre and Radash gra-Moran.

"So, why isn't the glorious Emperor Carius here?" Camri asked dryly.

"He's got, er, Emperory things to be getting on with" Ocato replied. "And also, I have some knowledge in the problem we are dealing with while he does not, and I am on more friendly relations with the rulers of the provinces"

"Anyway, we'd better get to work" Jauffre said. "All we can do at this point is head into the catacombs and re-unite Numidium with its heart"

"What would you like myself and Assurrani to do, Grandmaster?" Camri asked. "We don't really have the credentials of anyone else who has been in here"

"No, but you've both probably survived more fights than anyone else put together. The catacombs are haunted, and we'd appreciate a few extra blades at our side. And we may have need of your friend Ariel soon as well"

"Ariel? Why?" Camri asked. He thought of his friend – she must have known that something was up. She must have witnessed the Oblivion invasion, even if she knew it was coming.

"Do you remember her dream about the end of the world? We've just seen it. Everything she told us about happened – the Oblivion gates, cities being invaded, Daedra infesting Tamriel again. I want to know what else she's seen"

"Like what?"

"Like the locations of the unknown Towers and Stones, or the exact date on which the ritual that started the countdown to the Dragon Break happened – that will tell us exactly how long we have before the end of the world"

_Summary, by Radash gra-Moran_

_Dragon Break coming soon!_

_Towers and counterpart Stones:_

_Zero Stone – Ada-Mantia/Ur Tower/Direnni Tower/Adamantine Tower, Isle of Balfiera, High Rock (safe)_

_First Stone – Heart of Lorkhan, Red Mountain, Vvardenfell (technically safe due to connection to Zero Stone)_

_Second Stone – Chim-el Adabal or Amulet Of Kings, White Gold Tower, Imperial City, Cyrodiil (most 'powerful' Tower – holds the most power over Creation and space-time after Ada-Mantia)_

_Third Stone – Mantella, Numidium's Heart, Numidium is the Tower, owned by Blades_

_Fourth Stone - The Temple of the Throat of the World, or Snow-Throat, Skyrim, Stone possessed by Argonians_

_Fifth Stone – Crystal Tower or Crystal-Like-Law, Alinor, Summerset Isle_

_Sixth Stone – 'Falinesti/Tree-Sap', Tower location unknown, perhaps Falinesti city in Valenwood?_

_Seventh/Last Stone – 'Orichalc', nature and location of Tower and Stone both unknown but must be in Elsweyr_

_Zero and First Stones are out of the equation. The Second Stone is lost but can be re-forged if __all subsequent Stones are in place__ – this must be our priority._


	4. Memorial

Falas Assurrani had always respected King Hlaalu Helseth. After the events in the Morrowind capital of Mournhold that had resulted in the deaths of the gods Almalexia and Sotha Sil, the old Dunmer had realised that his people viewed him in a less-than-favourable light and had vowed to change. Helseth was a man of the people – he considered many residents of Mournhold as personal friends, and he looked out for _everyone._

"Ah, Falas. I just wanted a word with you in private" Helseth said, seeing Assurrani emerging from Cloud Ruler Temple's Great Hall.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"Back when you lived in Vvardenfell, you were an Ashlander nomad who became an assassin. I'm sure people didn't look upon you favourably. But things have changed. Word has spread quickly, not only about the Marsh Spirit saga but also your recent defeat of Mannimarco. The people of Morrowind long await your return. You are a Dunmer hero now, Falas"

"It is an honour to hear these words from you, Your Majesty. But I trust you were being truthful when you maintained silence when asked if there was anything you could contribute to this quest?"

"I was. I believe the Dunmers' role in this lengthy series of events has come to an end. The Heart of Lorkhan has fallen without immediate consequence, and I know that neither the Royal Palace or the Tribunal Temple hold any of the Stones. There is another thing, though, Falas.

"It is advantageous politically, this reverence that you are held in. For far too long, the Dunmer have been seen as the bad guys of Tamriel. People think we are stuck in the old ways and reluctant to aid the Empire. They blame us for the deaths of the Dwarves and of our own war hero, Indoril Nerevar. Our Temple persecuted the Nerevarine, the very man who saved Morrowind, and Tamriel, from a reign of terror at the hands of Dagoth Ur. If you were to help save the world, Falas Assurrani, and if the Court of Morrowind were to be seen backing you, this would change. Trying times are on us, but we can use them to our advantage"

"Your Majesty, I am aware of the problems facing the Dunmer at the moment. Our native religion is in tatters; relations between the Great Houses and the Empire are at an all-time low. Even if we survive the Dragon Break, Morrowind is on the verge of breaking down into civil war"

"Exactly. If we are not careful, we will see the first modern instance of the collapse of an entire Imperial province. We need something to give the Dunmer hope, to bring them back together. But don't let this cloud your motives – it's the whole of Tamriel at stake, not just Morrowind.

"I'm glad you're here to help us, Assurrani. Don't let me down"

Camri clocked Assurrani as he re-entered Cloud Ruler Temple.

"Tool up, friend. We're going into the Catacombs. What did Helseth want?"

"Just a chat. He's like that"

Assurrani paused. "Is this really happening, Camri? Is there really a network of towers that bind Mundus together? And is there really someone intent on undoing it all?"

"I don't want to believe it, but we have little choice" Camri replied. "And it makes sense – there's so much evidence. Why else would White Gold Tower have been built? Most of it is empty. It's only got an interior up to about the eighth storey then it's just a stairwell up to the top. And remember the Snow-Throat Tower? Why else is that there? Then there are other unexplained things, like the Ayleid wells, the Doomstones… they could all be coming into play"

"Okay, okay, but… who built all this?"

"I don't think we'll ever know. Some of these Towers are _really _old. Like Adamantine Tower. It's the oldest building in Tamriel, and the Snow-Throat tower didn't exactly look like it had been built by the Septim dynasty. It could have been the Ayleids, the Aldmer, the Nedes, maybe even the Akavir. All that matters is that this enormous device was built to stop the world ending, and that's what we need to use it for"

_A cave somewhere in Elsweyr, one week ago_

Ra'Nal breathed a sigh of relief as the cave's wooden doorway slammed shut. They were safe – for now. All Ra'Nal needed was time, time to think of a way to get Dro'Jo'Na to safety. The attack on the temple had come suddenly, only Ra'Nal and a few other soldiers had managed to escape with Dro'Jo'Na, where they had retreated out into the desert as night fell. Whoever had attacked the temple, Ra'Nal guessed they wouldn't have the time or manpower to search the entire desert and every cave found there.

"Sa'Riba, I'm putting you on watch" Ra'Nal said, turning to one of his soldiers. Sa'Riba was an expert scout, a gifted archer and able to seemingly disappear completely at will.

"What do I do if I see them?" Sa'Riba asked.

"I couldn't get an idea of their number during the attack" Ra'Nal said. "But I don't think there are many. If you can take them all down before they reach the cave, do that. Otherwise let us know and we'll have to make a run for it"

Sa'Riba left the cave, quietly closing its door behind him. This left Ra'Nal, Dro'Jo'Na and the other two soldiers, Dar'Sanis and Mal'Ta, in the cave.

It was only then that Ra'Nal began to think about the attack. Why was an attempt made on Dro'Jo'Na's life? What had an elderly Khajiit Mane, who lived almost alone in a temple in the middle of the Elsweyr desert, done to incur the wrath of whoever had attacked the temple? He wasn't overly religious despite being in Dro'Jo'Na's personal guard, but he knew that Manes were important figures in Khajiiti religion, and a cause of a lot of clan warfare. But only one of the attackers was a Khajiit. The rest were mostly Nord and Altmer.

"Ra'Nal, I must speak to you," Dro'Jo'Na said suddenly. "Come with me. We cannot be overheard"

"Keep an eye out for Sa'Riba" Ra'Nal said, turning to face Dar'Sanis and Mal'Ta. Dro'Jo'Na began walking quickly further into the cave, Ra'Nal following him.

"I must tell you what must be done if I don't survive this attack," Dro'Jo'Na said as the pair arrived in a large cavern deep underground.

"I will make sure you survive" Ra'Nal replied. "We will be back at the temple by tomorrow"

"I admire your optimism. But someone very powerful obviously wants me dead if they can afford to send mercenaries this far into the wilderness"

"Why would someone want you dead?"

"The end of the world as we know it is coming," Dro'Ja'Na said suddenly and ominously. "Few realise the importance of my kinsmen, and our worship, in the safekeeping of Nirn"

Ra'Nal had heard Dro'Jo'Na mention this before.

"How can I explain? Nirn is an irregularity, a divine, mortal realm in a sea of principalities of Oblivion. Powerful magic is needed to keep it in existence, and this magic is powered by eight stones. If these stones fail, the world will end"

"But why are you being hunted?"

"I am the last Mane left," Dro'Jo'Na said ominously. "The Last Stone exists only as long as the Manes are worshipping it. If I die, the stone is destroyed. I do not have time to tell you more because we must try to escape. But, Ra'Nal, you _must _survive this attack, even if I die. You must go to Cyrodiil, to the Imperial City, and tell the Chancellor that the Last Stone is gone"

Ra'Nal peered through the cave's entrance, using his natural ability to see in the dark. He could see the mercenaries running towards the cave – eight of them – a few hundred yards away. There wasn't much time.

"Sa'Riba, Dar'Sanis, you're the first line of defence" Ra'Nal said as he ducked back into the cave. "Make sure you've got a good line of fire at the door, and do as much damage as you can. If it gets too hot, retreat. Don't put yourselves in unnecessary danger. Mal'Ta, wait in the big cavern and cover their retreat. I'm taking Dro'Jo'Na further into the cave and I'm praying to Shezarr that there's another way out"

Caves such as this criss-crossed to unknown depths beneath the Elsweyr desert, and it was not unlikely for two caves to meet, essentially forming a tunnel. Ra'Nal hoped that this was one of those caves.

"Good luck, Ra'Nal" Dar'Sanis said, putting his hand on his leader's shoulder.

"And you" Ra'Nal replied. "We are going to survive this. I'll see you all back at the temple"

Sa'Riba and Dar'Sanis ducked in the shadows, their bows trained on the cave entrance. It could only be a matter of time…

There was a loud crack as the cave's wooden door was thrown off its hinges by a powerful kick. Instinctively, the two Khajiit both fired. Their archery skills were unmatched, and both arrows found their bead, hitting two mercenaries square between the eyes, killing them before they had entered the cave. However, no sooner had this happened when a bolt of lightning lanced into the cave, cast from outside, slamming into Dar'Sanis' chest and sending him tumbling backwards further into the cave.

"Mal'Ta!" Sa'Riba shouted. "I need you up here! Now!"

Sa'Riba ducked as another arrow flew over his head and clattered down into the cave. The Khajiit returned fire, hitting the archer who was standing in the doorway. As the archer fell backwards, the arrow jutting from their forehead, three mercenaries brandishing swords leapt over the archer's body and began racing towards Sa'Riba. An arrow shot forwards over Sa'Riba's head, fired by Mal'Ta, and took down the mage who had attacked Dar'Sanis. Immediately, Sa'Riba cast a fireball which exploded spectacularly between him and the approaching mercenaries, leaving a thick cloud of smoke and rock dust. Sa'Riba turned around and bolted further into the cave, signalling the approaching Mal'Ta to do the same. Mal'Ta fired off another arrow into the cloud of smoke then followed Sa'Riba.

Soon, the pair came across the body of Dar'Sanis. He had just about survived the lightning attack but tumbling down the cavern had ended his life.

"One down already" Mal'Ta said.

"Come on, Mal'Ta" Sa'Riba whispered loudly. "It's time to disappear"

The two agile Khajiit soldiers free-climbed up the wall of the large inner cavern to a small natural ledge above the passageway that led to the cave's entrance, and waited.

"Here they come" Mal'Ta whispered. "Are you ready?"

Sa'Riba nodded as Mal'Ta placed his hands on his comrade. Magicka began to surge between the two, until Sa'Riba's magicka was so fortified that he was possessed of a pale purple glow. The pair waited tensely as the remaining mercenaries, around twelve of them, filed through into the cavern. Just as they stopped to look for Sa'Riba and Mal'Ta, Sa'Riba unleashed a huge fireball, a wall of flame which tore through the air, engulfing several of the mercenaries and burning them to a crisp before they knew what had happened to them.

Immediately, however, one of the surviving mercenaries turned around – a tall, wizened-looking Altmer in a foreboding suit of ebony armour, unleashed a similar attack back at the two Khajiit, perched on the precarious ledge. Sa'Riba leapt down from the ledge and tried to grab Mal'Ta on his way down, but Mal'Ta was engulfed by the fireball and killed in an instant.

"Surrender, Khajiit!" the mercenary nearest to where Sa'Riba landed, a stocky Nord, shouted. Sa'Riba drew his sword and squared up to the mercenary, when the Nord was suddenly flung forwards, a look of horror frozen on his face and an arrow jutting from the back of his skull.

Ra'Nal.

"Make for me, my friend!" Ra'Nal called. "I'll cover you!"

As Ra'Nal loaded another arrow into his bow, he saw Sa'Riba leap over the fallen Nord mercenary and duck to avoid the horizontal blow from an Orc warrior's huge warhammer. Another Nord squared up to Sa'Riba, just as Ra'Nal aimed skilfully and fired, striking the Nord through the abdomen. It was the distraction Sa'Riba needed, plunging his sword through the Nord's chest. Now only the Altmer and the Orc remained. The Altmer raised his arms, magicka glowing from his fingertips.

Ra'Nal's heart skipped a beat. Sa'Riba was about to die. He was too far away to engage the Altmer in melee, and Ra'Nal was still reloading his bow…

Suddenly a pale green bolt of energy lanced through the cavern and engulfed the Altmer, extinguishing his magicka.

"Dro'Jo'Na!" Ra'Nal whispered loudly. "You should be hiding!"

"The Altmer is a powerful wizard," Dro'Jo'Na said, appearing next to Ra'Nal. "His name is Mellengal. You will need my help to fight him"

Sa'Riba turned around. The other two could handle the Altmer – he knew the Orc was just behind him. The Orc raced towards him, his warhammer held high above his head, and swung downwards. Sa'Riba leapt to the side to avoid the blow, but suddenly felt himself being struck by magic from behind. He couldn't move his limbs. He was paralysed. Helplessly, he watched the Orc racing towards him…

Ra'Nal tried to aim at the Orc but it was too late. The Orc smashed his warhammer down on Sa'Riba's head, smashing it like a watermelon. When the paralysis spell wore off, Sa'Riba's dead body fell clumsily to the ground. Ra'Nal gritted his teeth and fired, nailing the Orc between the eyes.

Only the two Khajiit and Mellengal remained in the fight.

"Surrender now!" Mellengal bellowed. "You know you have no chance of survival! You have explored this cave, Ra'Nal! You have not told your master, but there is no other way out!"

Ra'Nal looked at Dro'Jo'Na.

"We shall have to fight him," Dro'Jo'Na said. "Remember what I told you. If I die, tell Chancellor Ocato that the Last Stone has fallen. Go. Disappear"

"What?"

"Make yourself invisible and get out of here. One of us has to survive"

"I can't let you go to your death, Master. You just explained it to me. You will put the world in jeopardy"

"You're right" Dro'Jo'Na said, getting to his feet. He cast a bolt of lightning at Mellengal, but the wizard cast the same spell, the two bolts hitting in mid-air and bursting in a bright shower of sparks. Dro'Jo'Na cast another bolt, but Mellengal blocked it again.

Ra'Nal raised his bow and fired, just as Dro'Jo'Na unleashed a third bolt of lightning. But Mellengal returned two bolts, one cast from each hand, one hitting Dro'Jo'Na's attack and the other hitting Ra'Nal's arrow.

Dro'Jo'Na and Ra'Nal both drew their swords and leapt out into the main cavern, as Dro'Jo'Na attempted to cast a silencing spell at Mellengal – the Altmer leapt to the side to avoid the attack, returning a bright red orb of energy which missed Dro'Jo'Na by inches. As soon as he had done so, Mellengal cast another spell, this one hitting Ra'Nal and causing his sword to simply disintegrate in his hands.

"Do something, Master!" Ra'Nal cried. Dro'Jo'Na dropped his sword and fired off a bolt of lightning.

Mellengal did the same.

The bolts passed each other in mid-air – Dro'Jo'Na had aimed slightly lower.

Mellengal's bolt hit Dro'Jo'Na square in the chest.

Dro'Jo'Na's bolt hit Mellengal in the abdomen, punching through his armour ripping a gruesome hole through his side.

Both fell to the ground.

"Master!" Ra'Nal cried, falling down to Dro'Jo'Na's side. It was no good. Dro'Jo'Na was dead. Ra'Nal blanched and turned to look at Mellengal, who was lying on the ground with a wicked leer on his face.

"Do you feel anything, Khajiit?" Mellengal spat. "The Last Stone is gone. The world is that closer to destruction. Do you not feel it in the air? The feeling that whatever you do, whoever you may find to help you, you cannot stop fate?"

Mellengal spat a mouthful of blood then began speaking much lower and louder. "The Dragon shall break free! The First Era will be reborn! One by one, the Stones will fall and our dream will be realised!"

At that moment, Mellengal gagged then toppled over as the last ounce of strength faded from him.

Ra'Nal breathed deeply. The Last Stone had fallen. He had to tell someone. His mind span with Mellengal's dying words – What was the Dragon? The First Era being reborn?

Facing the daunting journey ahead of him, Ra'Nal bolted for the cave's exit.


	5. The Brig

**5 – The Brig**

_Document found in The Ministry Of Truth, Vivec, Morrowind_

_In Evidence Chest marked 'Highest Importance'._

_Mystery of Orichalc stone:_

_Khajiit involvement with Lunar Lattice known, so unaccounted Tower/Stone must be in Elsweyr somewhere_

_May be a tower_

_Red Mountain (First Stone) and Snow-Throat (Fourth Stone) are the highest mountains in their respective provinces_

_Is Orichalc the highest peak in Elsweyr?_

_Dragon Break witnessed by Khajiit who were unaffected_

_Will they survive this one?_

_Does intricate relationship between people and Stone/Tower allow them to transcend time disruption?_

_So why did the Dwarves disappear?_

_Cloud Ruler Temple, catacombs_

As soon as Cloud Ruler Temple had emptied of most of its visitors, Jauffre had taken a large pot of water and extinguished the fire that burnt in the huge fireplace at one end of the Great Hall. He had gathered Camri, Assurrani and Radash gra-Moran to take with him into the catacombs to replace the Third Stone.

"Up there?" Camri asked.

"Right" Jauffre replied. "Just follow me"

Jauffre then began to climb a series of shallow handholds cut into the walls of the chimney above the fireplace. The other three cautiously followed the Grandmaster, before he disappeared into a narrow side-passage about twenty feet up the chimney. This, in turn, led to another ladder which led down, much further than they had ascended to reach the ladder.

Eventually, the four regrouped at the base of the ladder. They were in an ancient ruin of some sort, a series of rooms and corridors cut into the rock of the Jerall Mountains. As Jauffre led the group through the corridors, they peered into the small rooms that branched off – they were all filled with somewhat more modern shelves containing an enormous collection of books, scrolls, notes, journals and maps.

"The Blades Archives" Jauffre said. "The biggest library in Tamriel. Your idea of heaven, I expect, Radash"

Jauffre then walked over to a barrel in one of the rooms filled with a different type of trophy – Sigil stones harvested during the Oblivion crisis.

"If you need an enchanted item created for your quest you need only ask," Jauffre said as he began emptying the barrel of its contents. "We've got at least thirty of the damn things"

Eventually, Jauffre grabbed a loop of rope at the base of the barrel and pulled it, triggering an unseen mechanism which caused a perfectly-concealed false wall elsewhere in the Archives to swing open.

"Alright, gentlemen. Let's go and replace the Third Stone"

Led by Camri, bearing his sword in one hand and a torch in the other, the four descended down an ancient stone staircase that plunged steeply downwards into the catacombs beneath Cloud Ruler Temple. Assurrani was just behind him, followed by Radash, with Jauffre at the back.

Reaching a reinforced wooden doorway, Camri unlocked it with a key given to him by Jauffre.

"How old is this place?" Camri asked.

"A lot older than the Blades" Jauffre replied. "They just found it and moved in. It was an ancient Nedic city, captured by the Akaviri who built a palace – the Temple – on top of it. The catacombs are still haunted"

Assurrani drew his bow as Camri pushed open the door then ducked out of the way. A skeleton lay just beyond the doorway and raised a bow of its own, but Assurrani was quicker on the draw and hit the skeleton in the neck with an arrow, snapping its spine and killing it.

"Looks clear" Assurrani said, taking another arrow from his quiver. "One request, though"

"What is it?" Jauffre asked.

"We don't talk about the underlying issues until we have placed the Mantella back in Numidium's heart. It's a pretty crazy concept to grasp, and we should probably concentrating on staying alive now, rather than later"

"You're right" Radash said. "Although I must say I'm not sure I would be here. I've never held a weapon in my life…"

"Never thought I'd hear an Orc say that" Camri remarked.

"You're here so we can keep you safe," Jauffre said. "You're our most invaluable asset against this crisis"

The four moved through the now-open door into a wide natural stone tunnel which still sloped downwards, leading further down into the Jerall Mountains. Down the centre of the tunnel was a rough staircase that had been carved into the rock, which was flanked by stone statues of warriors, dressed in the signature Akaviri armour of the Blades. But the ebony spears they held in their hands, the bases of each spear resting on the ground, were real.

Camri led the group down the steep tunnel.

"Watch your heads" Jauffre whispered. "You'll see why"

Nervously, the four continued until the tunnel levelled out and emerged in a large natural cavern containing one incredible feature – carved into the rock at its far end was a walled keep, complete with battlements, guard towers and a raised drawbridge which spanned a large chasm that yawned down to unseen depths.

The meaning of Jauffre's words became clear when a skeleton appeared on the battlements above the drawbridge, wielding a bow, and immediately fired an arrow. Camri grabbed Radash by the arm and pulled him to one side as the arrow shot by them, narrowly missing the pair. Assurrani, still in the mouth of the tunnel, crouched down and aimed. His arrow arced across the large cavern, hitting the skeleton in its skull, which split clean in two. As two more skeleton archers emerged from one of the guard towers, Camri also drew his bow and fired – his shot went wide, hitting the guard tower just above its doorway, but it caused one of the skeletons to hesitate for long enough for Assurrani to bring it down. Camri then reloaded and fired again, hitting the second skeleton in the chest.

"We'll never defeat them all!" Jauffre called. "They just keep appearing up there, I don't know where from"

"What do we do?" Assurrani said, never taking his eyes off the battlements.

"Radash, that lever!" Jauffre pointed at an iron crank in one corner of the cavern, back near the tunnel they had emerged from. Radash ran for the lever as another skeleton took aim at him, but before the skeleton could fire it was taken down by Assurrani.

Radash reached the crank and turned it 90 degrees until it lodged into a new resting place. There was a loud clank of chains as the wooden drawbridge fell into place, bridging the chasm.

A ghost waited just beyond the drawbridge and loosed off a frost spell, which Jauffre leapt to one side to avoid, as he was doing so drawing a silver throwing knife from a concealed pouch in his robe and throwing it at the ghost. The knife slammed into the ghost and glowing smoke began to pour from the wound for a few seconds until the ghost vanished.

"In! Now!" Jauffre called, running across the drawbridge. The Breton drew his dai-katana and turned around, just as Camri took down another skeleton as Radash and Assurrani ran for the drawbridge. Arrows were raining down from the battlements, but the four all eventually made it across the drawbridge.

"Everyone alright?" Camri asked. They had all miraculously survived the crossing. "Is this what's in store for us from here on in?"

"Thankfully not" Jauffre replied. "The skeletons only guard the drawbridge"

Jauffre took the lead, illuminating the wide stone tunnel that the drawbridge had led into with his torch. Unlike the previous passage, this tunnel had been fully carved by man, cut into a square cross-section. Statues similar to those that lined the entry tunnel stood flanking the path.

Soon, the tunnel, like the entry passageway, emerged in a large cavern. Except this cavern completely dwarfed the one which had contained the keep wall and drawbridge.

The tunnel emerged on a stone balcony high up in the enormous cavern, from which a precarious stone staircase wound down the cavern wall. The chamber was so huge that Jauffre's torchlight didn't even illuminate its far end. The floor of the cavern was flooded to ankle height, and around its edge, eight short stairways led up to stone doors leading into burial chambers.

"The number eight…" Radash remarked. "As this saga unfolds, you'll be surprised how often that number appears"

"Which one is Numidium in?" Assurrani asked.

"I've never actually seen it, but ancient documents passed down through the Blades say it is in 'the greatest tomb of all'" Jauffre replied. "I'd make a guess at that one"

Jauffre pointed across the huge cavern at a burial chamber door which was larger than the others, ornately decorated with carvings which were inlaid with brightly-coloured gemstones. On the door itself was an enormous heart carved from ruby, in the centre of which was an elliptical blue gemstone – a depiction of the Mantella.

"Ah... We've got company," Camri said nervously as a lich threw open a burial chamber door and stumbled out into the cavern, a summoned ghost behind it. But then, with a spectacularly accurate shot with a silver-tipped arrow, Assurrani struck the lich in the heart, killing it.

"Are there any targets you can't hit?" Radash asked in admiration.

"I haven't found any yet" Assurrani replied, sheathing his bow and following the other three as they began to descend the narrow staircase that led down to the floor of the cavern.

Eventually, the group found themselves splashing through the water that flooded the cavern, heading towards the ornate doorway that Numidium lay behind. Camri couldn't help but notice a thin, red, oily film over the water, and the alchemist in him identified it as a highly flammable oil made from fire salts.

"Jauffre, I don't like the look of this water. Extinguish your torch"

Camri then took a bottle of potion from his backpack and took a few swigs of it, causing light to begin to radiate from him, much brighter than Jauffre's torch. Jauffre smothered the flame with his leather gauntlets as Camri looked around…

"There" Camri said, pointing up at the ceiling of the cavern. A narrow shaft raised up from the centre of the ceiling, inside which could be seen a wooden raft-like device with four burning torches mounted on it, one in each corner. The whole assembly was held in place by a chain harness.

"I hear you're quite the expert on traps, Camri" Jauffre said.

"It looks like a time-based trap to me. As soon as it triggers, it will start lowering from the ceiling. And it won't stop until it reaches the water and ignites the oil on its surface. There's no way to get around it other than to be quick"

"How do we trigger it?" Radash asked.

"I imagine we'll find out very soon. We need to be quick. Once we get to Numidium, is there any sort of ritual that we have to perform?"

"Not that I'm aware, we just need to put the Mantella in its heart"

The four had walked for about thirty more yards when Jauffre, at the front, stepped on the trigger stone. It was a vast trigger that spanned the entire width of the cavern, making it unavoidable. Several things began to happen at once: with a groaning from some hidden mechanism, the raft holding the torches began to lower out of its recess. The ornately-decorated door swung open, followed by a concealed doorway on each side of it. Several skeletons wielding Akaviri weapons filed out of the doorways.

"Camri, Radash, go!" Jauffre cried. "You're covered!"

Camri and Radash began to sprint towards the large tomb doorway, the skeletons rushing forward to meet them. An arrow shot between the pair, striking the nearest skeleton in the head. As they kept running, the occasional arrow from Assurrani shot past to take down whichever foe presented the most immediate threat, but most of the skeletons were moving to the right, distracted by something.

Jauffre, unarmed, standing by the doorway to one of the other burial chambers, with one eye on the skeletons and the other on the descending raft. The skeletons saw Jauffre and, thinking him an easy target, went for him.

Three skeletons had almost reached him when with an almost-unseen flick of each wrist, he propelled two throwing knives, perfectly aimed, slicing through two of the skeletons' necks. The third was brought down by Assurrani moments before it raised a weapon to strike down Jauffre.

Two skeletons stood guarding the doorway into Numidium's chamber.

"Stay back, Radash" Camri said as he drew his sword. The two skeletons descended on him at once but he held them off easily, blocking their blows with his sword. He took down one skeleton with a powerful kick to its chest, shattering its ribcage and spine, then struck the other skeleton in the wrist with his sword, severing its hand and causing it to drop his weapon, before he sliced through its neck with a horizontal swordstroke.

Then, Camri grabbed Radash and dragged him through the large, ornate doorway.

"How long have we got?" Radash asked.

"Not very" Camri replied. The raft was now almost halfway down…

Only now did the pair behold the sight before them – the chest of Numidium, mounted on an enormous pedestal. It was at least four times Camri's height – the completed golem must have been _enormous. _And where its heart should have been was a small hatch, which Camri threw open, revealing an elliptical recession the exact width and height of the Mantella.

"Here we go" Radash said, handing the Mantella to Camri. "It's your honour"

Camri held the huge azure gemstone reverently before carefully slotting it into the recession and closing the hatch. Through the gaps around the hatch's edge, a glowing azure light that matched the colour of the Mantella could be seen.

"Is that it?" Camri remarked. "I was expecting something a bit more spectacular than that…"

"If Numidium were complete it would be coming to life right now" Radash said. "Come on, let's get out of here before we're incinerated"

The pair left the chamber to witness Assurrani striking down the final skeleton with his sword.

"Go!" Camri yelled. Assurrani and Jauffre nodded and bolted back towards the staircase, Camri and Radash following them. The raft was now only a few yards above the lake of oil…

"Come on, Radash! There's not long!" Camri shouted, catching up with the Orc.

"Forgive those of us who are not blessed with your endurance, Camri Everlight!" Radash called back.

Camri tripped.

A dismembered skeleton, concealed by the oily water. Camri splashed clumsily into the water. Radash, ten yards or so in front of him, turned…

"Keep going! I'll be fine" Camri shouted as he clambered to his feet and broke into a sprint.

Assurrani and Jauffre reached the staircase.

One yard to go.

Radash clambered onto the stairs just as the raft's torches touched the oil.

The lake spectacularly burst into flames, a wall of fire roaring across its surface.

Camri leapt onto the stairs a fraction of a second before the wave of deadly fire rushed past him. Radash and Jauffre both breathed huge sighs of relief, amazed at what had just happened, but Camri and Assurrani just carried on ascending the stairs.

"He's had narrower escapes than that before" Assurrani remarked. "Welcome to the nerve-wracking experience of being friends with Camri Everlight. It doesn't seem right doing it without Ariel, does it?"

"No" Camri said softly.

After a daring run back across the drawbridge being fired upon by a few straggling skeleton archers, the four eventually emerged back in the Great Hall of Cloud Ruler Temple.

"Well, that gives us chance to breathe" Jauffre said. "The immediate threat of Oblivion invasion is dealt with. Now what?"

"Now we have to deal with the remaining Stones" Radash said. "Once King Jararka sends the Argonians' Stone to us we can return it to Snow-Throat, but until then there's not a lot we can do…"

"It doesn't sound like we have time to sit around working out what to do" Camri said. "In my stash I've got a load of old maps, just things that I've found in my travels. They might be able to tell us where the Falinesti and Orichalc towers are. It's a long shot, but I don't see what else we can do…"

"Your stash? Where's that?" Jauffre asked.

"Elenglynn ruin, do you know it?"

"In the Heartlands, yes. You three go to it, I've got a few other leads to follow up here. I'm going to find out who is causing this Dragon Break"


	6. Where The Heart Is

_Jauffre's notes on Dragon Break_

_Original Dragon Break:_

_Caused by Marukhati Selective, a sect of the Alessian Order, early human religion_

_Selective accidentally disrupted time by attempting to banish elements of the Elven god Aur-Eil from Akatosh_

_Is the new Dragon Break a repetition of, or a response to, this original Break?_

"One thing always worries me during times of crisis," Camri Everlight said as he walked through the Great Forest with Radash and Assurrani. "People have a tendency to use a crisis to fulfil personal agendas. A lot of Tamriel's leaders are getting involved with this"

"Maybe they're just trying to help, you old cynic," Assurrani replied. "I know King Helseth has no agenda other than seeing the Dragon Break averted, and King Jararka is giving us a treasure of the Argonian Court. Helseth, I am sure about. He has gone out of his way to make sure he is trusted"

"How so?" Camri asked.

"By birth his name was Helseth Hlaalu. House Hlaalu are one of the Great Houses of Morrowind, and have a reputation for seediness, crime, backstabbing… The Cammona Tong, a fascist group of organised criminals, has strong ties to House Hlaalu. So a ruler born into that house would be viewed with a certain degree of trepidation. So he switched his names around, starting over and creating the Helseth dynasty"

"But what about Steward Aldaroth, and that Lasatel woman he was talking about? We've had too much good luck with people who have been forced upon us. I know that Marlus Halisman and Larand Pasqual were good men, but…"

"And Summerset Isle and Elsweyr didn't even send representatives to the meeting" Radash added.

"Exactly" Camri continued. "Why not? This is clearly a matter of great importance. It's not just a few provinces at stake here, it's everyone. They were told that"

"I wonder if it's coincidence that the Khajiit are being mysteriously quiet, given that we know nothing of their Tower or Stone?" Radash questioned. "Camri's right, we should watch who we trust. _Someone_ is trying to end the world, and we don't know whether or not they have friends in high places"

"Hang on, you think some mad doomsday cult has infiltrated the ruling parties of Tamriel?" Assurrani asked.

"More than that" Radash said uneasily, stopping in his tracks. "My theory is that whoever is behind the Dragon Break has been planning it for centuries. They have been engineering events to remove the Ada-Mantian Stones. Take the Amulet of Kings – there were other ways to repel Dagon other than its destruction. The Heart of Lorkhan was destroyed during the Dunmer campaign against Dagoth Ur. That war was as much about politics as anything else, and politics are very easy to manipulate…"

"You think we've been drawn into this, Camri?" Assurrani asked. "Remember, our original plan was to destroy the Mantella. It was only when Latta met with Meridia when we learnt that it must not be destroyed. A chance encounter saved the world"

Camri shook his head slowly. "It's clear that we have many allies, but many enemies too. Peripheral group members may come and go, but we need to all stick together. Radash, you need to keep me and Falas informed as to what we're supposed to be doing. Falas, we need to make sure Radash comes to no harm. Agreed?"

"Agreed" Assurrani said.

"Agreed" Radash began. "You two do trust me, don't you…"

Camri looked uneasily at Radash.

"Of course we do" Assurrani said to a nervous Radash as Camri broke out into a smile. "He's just fooling with you"

As the three reached Elenglynn, a small trap-infested Ayleid ruin which Camri used to store anything interesting or valuable that he found in his travels, Camri saw the ruin's door wide open and many trails of bootprints leading from it into the undergrowth and his heart sank.

"I've been cleared out," Camri said evenly. "It had to happen sooner or later – there's probably a hundred thousand Septims' worth of loot in there"

"Come on, Camri, you call _me _pessimistic" Assurrani began as Camri strode open to the heavy stone door, slammed it shut and tried his key in the lock. The lock hadn't been broken – the ancient bronze key locked the door successfully.

"We'll follow these tracks," Camri said. "They're fresh. This has only just happened. I'm going to catch these thieving bastards"

"With respect, that's not our most urgent priority right now" Radash said.

"We came here for my maps. I bet you any money that the thieves took them to sell them to the Cartography"

It had actually been less than an hour since Ariel Lasaille had left Elenglynn, pursued by seven High Elves, all wearing black robes.

Ariel visualised the layout of the ruin as she entered it. A winding entry tunnel led into a large partially-flooded chamber, crossed by a walkway which led to a platform from which the locked rooms containing Camri's stash were accessible from.

Ariel had bypassed the many traps in the ruin using a combination of cunning and magic. She had anticipated the horizontal blade which swung across the entry stairs, crawling underneath it. She had simply used speed to get past the corridor filled with pendulum-like swinging blades, and used telekinesis to lift several loose rocks and bricks into place to block a deadly spiked grate which moved along a precarious walkway – the only way into the depths of the ruin – along a series of metal tracks. Noticing several black Varla stones which glowed with magicka, Ariel had charged herself with magicka-absorbing and -reflecting spells – each fireball or bolt of lightning that hit her either absorbed into her, giving her a momentary magical boost, or physically bounced off her dark blue robe, striking the walls or ceiling of the large, flooded trap chamber.

Once Ariel had reached Camri's stash, she encountered a sturdy iron gate which she could not overcome. However, like all the similar square-section gates found in Ayleid ruins, this one had a large circular void in its centre, a gap which Ariel believed was just big enough…

Spotting the gemstone she was seeking, a transparent glass-like orb, resting on an altar, held in place by two bricks, Ariel once again used telekinesis to manoeuvre it over towards her, through the gap in the gate and into her hands. As she grasped the gemstone, Ariel Lasaille breathed a sigh of relief.

_If I'd dropped it, the world would have ended,_ Ariel thought to herself.

It was then that the ten Altmer had arrived. One was killed almost instantly by the blade trap in the entry stairs. The spellcasting Varla stones claimed another two, but then, somehow, the Altmer sensed Ariel's presence.

"We know you're in here!" a menacing voice called through the ruin. "We have only come here for one thing – let us have it and you will escape unharmed"

_They are here for the gemstone, _Ariel thought to herself. _Exactly as it was in the dream._

Ariel took a deep breath. In her dream she had made a daring escape from this situation, but still did not believe herself entirely capable of pulling it off…

"Come and get it" Ariel called, stepping back out onto the large platform that spanned between the walkway and the locked stash chamber. A large pillar stood on the platform, bearing several cracks from where stray spells from the Varla stone traps had hit it. Ariel would have to time this perfectly…

As Ariel bolted towards the pillar, she sensed a surge of magicka behind her and dived to the ground as a colossal bolt of lightning from a Varla stone lanced over her and smashed into the pillar. This final attack made the crumbling pillar give way, splitting where the lightning had hit it and toppling forwards. Ariel leapt up onto the falling pillar and ran as fast as she could as the top of the pillar crashed into a ledge jutting out halfway across the walkway. It held – just – but started to crumble. Ariel leapt onto the ledge, having passed the seven bemused Altmer, just as the pillar gave way and crumbled unceremoniously into the water that flooded the chamber.

Then, Ariel used telekinesis to dislodge the blocked spiked grate. The gate clattered down its tracks, back towards where the seven black-robed Altmer had reached the far end of the walkway, and Ariel broke into another run. As the gate began to make its return journey, the Altmer began to follow her, seeking sanctuary from the deadly grate on the protruding ledge, hurling spells at the fleeing Breton. But Ariel was still under the effect of the magic-resisting spells she had cast on herself and the spells that hit her had no effect.

Ariel continued running, past the swinging blade traps, until she got outside the ruin and realised she had absolutely no idea where to go after that.

"There! Ahead!" Assurrani whispered loudly. Following the tracks through the undergrowth, the three had quickly caught up with their creators – seven robed Altmer. Before the Elves had spotted them, Assurrani fired off an arrow, striking one of them in the back.

"Stay back, Radash!" Camri called as he drew his sword. The six remaining Altmer all turned to face Assurrani and Camri, three of them casting spells which caused Daedric armour to materialise on them, and Daedric weapons to appear in their hands. Camri squared up to one of the Daedric-clad Elves, knowing he was in for a tough fight, and blocked their first axe-blow with his glass sword. The crystalline blade absorbed the shock easily, and Camri continued parrying with the attacker – soon, another similarly-attired Altmer began attacking him too. Never losing concentration, Camri just kept blocking their attacks using his sword and shield, before the reason for his defensiveness became clear – the summoning spells wore off and the two Altmer, exhausted from the fight, found themselves unarmed and wearing nothing but their black robes. Camri ran his sword straight into the heart of one of the Elves – as the other turned to flee, Camri roughly pulled his sword out and plunged it into the back of the other Altmer. Then, hearing a roaring sound which was rapidly increasing in volume, he leapt to one side as a fireball rocketed past him.

Drawing his bow, Camri glanced around and saw Assurrani, with his magical Elven sword, fighting off the third armoured soldier. Just as Camri had done, Assurrani waited until the instant the spell wore off and rammed his sword into the attacker's throat.

This left three spellcasters, so Assurrani also resorted to his bow. But the Altmer seemed well-informed – they knew Assurrani to be the superior marksman so concentrated their fire on him, launching volleys of spells at the Dunmer, causing him to beat a retreat towards a large rock. Camri aimed at one of the mages and fired, hitting the Altmer in the side of his head, causing it to burst like a watermelon. The other two mages both hurled fireballs at Camri, but he avoided them, just, feeling searing pain as a fireball passed millimetres from his side. Camri desperately drew another arrow from his quiver and fired again, but the shot went wide.

But then, something unexpected happened.

A silver arrow, identical to the one Camri had fired, slammed into the far side of the Altmer mage's head, killing him in an instant.

_Crossfire from another archer? _Camri thought. But he knew deep down that only one thing could have caused that. Someone had used telekinesis to bend the arrow's flight…

"Ariel!" Camri shouted.

"_Camri?" _came a distant reply from a voice he recognised instantly.

With new resolve, Assurrani, who had also heard the voice, leapt out from cover and landed ducked down on one knee, snapping his bow up and firing in one swift movement, taking down the final spellcaster.

Assurrani sheathed his bow and breathed a sigh of relief, motioning to the hidden Radash that it was safe to emerge, whilst Camri ran in the direction of the voice.

Camri spotted Ariel quickly. She was seated on a rock, looking absolutely exhausted, but a wide smile spread across her face when she saw Camri. The Breton leapt to her feet and ran towards Camri, throwing her arms around him.

"Ariel…" Camri said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for this" Ariel said between breaths, producing the transparent crystal ball she had taken from Camri's stash.

"That crystal? I've had that for years. Why didn't you say something before?"

"Because I've only just realised what it was for. Watch this"

Ariel held the crystal up to the sunlight and it began to glow with a deep orange light.

"You see, I never realised it did that…" Camri said in awe.

"It's one of the Ada-Mantian Stones. The Crystal Tower one, to be precise"

Camri's heart skipped a beat.

"So who are your new Altmer friends?"

Ariel shrugged. "The same people who caused the new Dragon Break? I heard the man who performed the ritual was an Altmer… Falas!"

Ariel had spotted Assurrani walking through the undergrowth, and ran over and embraced him warmly.

"How are you, Ariel, my friend?" Assurrani asked.

"All the better for being back with you two," Ariel replied, releasing her arms from Assurrani. "I think I made a mistake leaving. I knew that as soon as my caravan back to High Rock got ambushed by Daedra"

"It is wonderful to see you again, Ariel," Camri said. "You just took me by surprise, that's all"

"I realised I'm part of this too. I've been having dreams that relate to the Ada-Mantian Stones. I saw the Crystal Tower stone, in your den, in vivid detail, and I saw the Altmer coming for it too, and knew I had to beat them to it"

"This might be an obvious question, but where's Halisman?" Camri asked. Marlus Halisman was an Imperial Legion soldier who had been assigned as Ariel's bodyguard.

"He got recalled to Legion service after the Oblivion invasion" Ariel replied. "So for the first time in many years I don't have a bodyguard, but I've learnt how to take care of myself now. Anyway, this stone - we should return it to Crystal Tower…"

"We'd better consult with Jauffre first," Assurrani said. "The Altmer are acting a bit suspiciously. This attack, the fact that Queen Camalinde didn't come to the summit at Cloud Ruler…"

"And the fact that an Altmer caused the Dragon Break" Camri said sternly. "I'm sure you have a lot to tell us, Ariel"


	7. Introducing Palace Players

After Ariel and Radash had been introduced, and Camri had made a detour to fetch his box of maps from his stash, the four began making their way back towards Cloud Ruler Temple, Ariel carrying the precious gemstone.

"Falas, you told me once that you were having doubts about the prophecy," Ariel said. "You weren't sure that defeating Mannimarco was the great event the three of us were brought together for. And I think you're right. I think _this _is our fate, replacing the Ada-Mantian Stones"

"Are you sure about that?" Assurrani asked.

"As sure as I've ever been about everything else"

"It would mean that the Emperor had lied to us again," Camri spat. "Goes without saying, I suppose. He knew of the prophecy and exploited it"

"Not necessarily," Ariel countered. "If we hadn't taken the Mantella out of the mortal plane, all those Oblivion gates would not have opened and we would not have suddenly been made aware of the threat. The acquisition of the Mantella was just a piece of the puzzle"

"How much do you know about this, Ariel? The Dragon Break, do you know about that?"

"Yes, I kept having dreams about it. I saw what the Blades know – the Altmer performing a ritual in the Facility Chamber beneath Red Mountain in Morrowind"

"That's where the Heart of Lorkhan used to be" Assurrani added.

"I didn't know what to do. I considered returning and finding you all, and then I had the dream about this gemstone and knew what had to be done"

"What about the most important question of all?" Camri asked. "When is the Dragon Break going to happen?"

"The Thirteenth of Heartfire" Ariel said quietly. "Two weeks from now. We really don't have long at all. I know what must be done next, as well, what Jauffre is about to ask of us when we get to Cloud Ruler"

"What?" Assurrani asked.

"There's a member of the organisation behind the Dragon Break – an infiltrator - who was making secret reports to the Blades – that's how they found out about it. She got imprisoned by the Ordinators in Morrowind"

"Ordinators?" Radash asked.

"Nasty people," Assurrani explained. "They're soldiers from House Indoril who basically act as the Tribunal Temple's army. They're cold, ruthless, efficient and deadly. You don't want to get on the wrong side of them"

"Well, we're about to," Ariel continued. "She was imprisoned for a different reason – apparently preaching heresy, but actually damning the Tribunal for manipulating the Heart of Lorkhan. She seems to be an expert in the Ada-Mantian Stones, just like Mr gra-Moran"

"Is it Mavena Aryon?" Radash asked. "I know her – we both collated our research when we first published books about the Stones"

"Yes, it is," Ariel said. "I even know exactly where they're holding her, we just need someone to actually get her out"

"Your dreams seem to be becoming a lot more coherent, Ariel" Camri remarked. "This must be the prophecised event"

"Do you think this is my fate, then?"

"Well, there must be a reason you were given the incredible gift of foresight, just as there must also be a reason for it suddenly focusing"

_Cloud Ruler Temple_

Grandmaster Jauffre waited in the Great Hall for the Khajiit to emerge from the East Wing where he had been resting. The Khajiit, Ra'Nal, had arrived at Cloud Ruler Temple that morning, from Elsweyr, having spoken to Chancellor Ocato. Ocato had referred Ra'Nal to Cloud Ruler Temple, and given him a scroll decreeing that he was allowed to set foot in the Temple. Ra'Nal had been on his last legs when he had finally arrived at Cloud Ruler Temple – he had told Jauffre that the Last Stone had fallen, then passed out.

The ensuing four hours had been the longest, most tense wait of Jauffre's life. To pass the time, he had read over the notes he had made on the Dragon Break crisis. On Radash's list of the towers, the completely unknown one, Orichalc, was at the bottom, with 'Elsweyr?' written next to it, then this Khajiit had appeared with information about one of the Stones…

_It would certainly make sense, _Jauffre thought.

Eventually, Ra'Nal emerged from the East Wing and spotted Jauffre.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Grandmaster" the Khajiit said, walking over and taking a seat next to Jauffre on one of the large wooden tables scattered around the Great Hall.

"I think you needed it," Jauffre replied. "I don't think we got round to proper introductions – who are you?"

"My name is Ra'Nal. I am – was – a guardian of Dro'Jo'Na, one of the Khajiit Manes. We were attacked by mercenaries. Myself, Dro'Jo'Na and the other guardians all fled. I was the only one who got away"

"Mane? They're high priests of Khajiiti religion, are they not?" Jauffre asked.

"Well, they were. Dro'Jo'Na told me he was the last Mane alive, and now he is dead. And for a Khajiit to become a Mane, it must be born on a particular astronomical date, a date when the two moons are in a particular alignment"

"I see" Jauffre said. "And the Last Stone?"

"That was the other thing Dro'Jo'Na told me. He says there are many Stones that bind the Lunar Lattice together, and one by one they are falling…"

"Yes, we are quite familiar with the problem. Go on"

"Dro'Jo'Na told me that one of these Stones rests in Elsweyr. He didn't say where, or what the Stone is, but he said that it only displays its power when Manes are worshipping it. He called it the Last Stone"

"So it's like a god to the Khajiit people?"

"No, just the Manes. I did not even know of this Stone's existence until the other day, and now it is gone"

"Ra'Nal, basically what is happening here is that all these Stones are being taken from their counterpart Towers and we need to replace them. Several years ago, someone, somewhere, performed a dark, ancient ritual and the upshot is that the world is going to end very soon unless we can get them all back. We _have _to replace the Last Stone. I don't know how, but everything depends on it"

Ra'Nal was silent for a few seconds whilst Jauffre's words sunk in, and then he spoke quietly. "I have other information that can help you. The man who killed Dro'Jo'Na was an Altmer called Mellengal. In his dying words, he spoke about the end of the world, the First Era being reborn, the dragon breaking…"

"The Dragon Break is the event that we are trying to stop" Jauffre said. "So this Mellengal is part of the group that caused it. That is very helpful – we are one step closer to discovering who is behind the Dragon Break, and more importantly, why"

"I will do everything I can to help you, Grandmaster," Ra'Nal said, standing. "I offer my services as a warrior to the Empire"

Jauffre stood and shook hands with Ra'Nal. "Welcome to the Blades – you are now an honorary member. As soon as the others return, I have a task for you"

"Others?"

"Yes. Camri Everlight, Falas Assurrani, Radash gra-Moran. Perhaps you've heard of them?"

"I have heard that Radash gra-Moran is a great thinker from Orsinium. Camri Everlight and Falas Assurrani – they're the two who defeated Mannimarco and stopped the Oblivion invasion, aren't they? I heard of them in my travels. Word has spread quickly around the Provinces of their achievements"

"I'm honoured, truly" a voice said from the other side of the Great Hall. The grand doors of the Temple had been left wide open, to let fresh summer air circulate around the Temple, and several figures had heard Jauffre and Ra'Nal's conversation as they had ascended the great staircase that led from the outer fortifications to the Temple itself.

"Ah, Camri, you have returned" Jauffre said. "Are the other two with you?"

"Other three" Camri said, correcting Jauffre. "They're right behind me. We met with someone most unexpected on our travels, and we have some good news"

Assurrani and Radash then entered the Temple, followed finally by Ariel Lasaille, reverently holding the Crystal Tower gemstone before her.

"Well, if it isn't Ariel Lasaille!" Jauffre said in surprise. "And what is that you have with you?"

"It's the Crystal Tower stone, Grandmaster" Ariel replied. "For all these years, Camri has owned it and not realised it…"

"I will safeguard it here before we can arrange for its return to Crystal Tower. In the meantime, I have an important task for you…"

"Mavena Aryon" Ariel interrupted. "I know – my gift of foresight gets stronger by the day. And since you are about to ask, we have two weeks until the Dragon Break"

"That really isn't long at all," was all Jauffre could muster in response. He really thought they had longer than that… "At least we are making good progress. King Jararka is sending the Snow-Throat stone to us as we speak, and soon the Crystal Tower stone will be back in place. And at least we know what we're up against to reinstate the Orichalc stone"

"What about Falinesti?" Radash asked.

"I'm hoping Mavena Aryon will know something about it. She's another expert in the Ada-Mantian Stones. Although I think it's just a hobby of hers, really – she's a Blades operative. It turns out she followed a huge group of Altmer to Red Mountain and witnessed the ceremony being performed, and infiltrated the group to find out exactly what the ceremony did. It was only just before her capture when she managed to put all the pieces together. In the meantime, Radash, you are free to examine the Blades archives for any information on either the Tower or the Stone.

"As for the rest of you, I can only wish you the best of luck on your mission to Vvardenfell"

On the long caravan journey to Morrowind, Assurrani explained to Camri, Ariel and Ra'Nal, who had joined the three, exactly what they were up against.

"First, there's the Ministry Of Truth itself. It's a rock floating in the air above Vivec's Great Temple. Dunmer legend tells of how Vivec himself stopped the rock from hitting the city and destroying it, after our old friend Sheogorath decided on a whim to cast it at the city. So it's floating in mid-air in the most heavily-guarded and exposed part of the city, which is accessible only through the rest of the city or by water.

"Once we're inside the Ministry, it's a maze. I have no idea where the cell block is, and it will be swarming with Ordinators"

"I believe she's in the second cell from the left in the cell block," Ariel added.

"Then you have the Ordinators themselves," Assurrani continued. "Like I said, they're ruthless. They hide behind masks just to appear that bit more threatening. Any crime you commit, they'll find a way to prove to the people that it was heresy and have you killed. They're all of House Indoril but answer to the Tribunal Temple. In short, the Tribunal Temple has what every religion wants – its own army. And we're on our own. No-one will help us break someone out of the Ministry of Truth"

"What do we do when we've found Mavena?" Camri asked.

"We use intervention. It's a spell only commonly practiced in Morrowind but it calls upon the gods for aid. You read out a Divine Intervention scroll and before you know it you're standing outside the nearest Imperial chapel – for us, that will be in Ebonheart, which is quite useful, firstly because it's an Imperial town and the Ordinators have no powers there – it's governed by the Legion who are answering to Chancellor Ocato at the moment, so they're on our side. Secondly, you can just jump on a boat and be back on the mainland in a few hours"

"I'll escape with Mavena," Camri suggested. "Leave me to get into the cells. The rest of you, just watch my back and then concentrate on getting out of there alive"

"One more thing I should add" Assurrani said uneasily. "I think I annoyed a lot of people in Vivec after I left the Morag Tong. It's dishonourable, but that's behind me. I'm not an assassin anymore"

"No, you're a hero," Camri said. "We all are. Even you, Ra'Nal. If you hadn't got to Cyrodiil alive we would have no idea what had happened to the Last Stone"

"Can I ask something of you?" the Khajiit asked in response. "I do not fully understand the extent of the problem we're facing. I know it involves a Dragon Break, and I know what a Dragon Break is. Dro'Jo'Na told me many times of these incredible events. But The Warp In The West, the apotheosis of the Tribunal… these events did not cause the world to end"

"I think it's to do with how much time is destabilised by," Ariel answered. Camri and Assurrani could tell, as she spoke, that Ariel had devoted a lot of her great mind to understanding the crisis. "Essentially, a Dragon Break is a reprise of the Dawn Era, when time was non-linear. When Akatosh first arrived in Mundus in the Zero Stone, that stabilised time and history as we know it began. During a Dragon Break, the passage of time becomes non-linear again. What would feel like a second may actually be thousands of years, throughout which divine forces are working to restore order to Creation.

"But this one, this is bigger. This isn't some event triggering a Dragon Break, this is a direct move to cause one. Time may be broken to a point where it cannot be fixed again"

"May be?" Assurrani asked. "You mean there's not even a definite chance that this will happen?"

"Ever the optimist, aren't you?" Camri retorted. "I don't think anyone wants to take a chance. What's better – a huge and dangerous quest to prevent something that may not happen, or sitting back and watching the world end? I've had some ideas of who might be behind it, too"

The other three looked expectantly at Camri.

"The first Dragon Break was caused by a group called the Marukhati Selective, who were trying to banish elements of Elven theocracy from Akatosh. It worked, but the consequence was one thousand and eight years where time did not seem to exist.

"I think this is a direct response to that. Everyone we know to be involved in the Dragon Break has been Elven…"

_Vivec Temple, Vvardenfell, Morrowind, 11pm_

The small fishing boat commandeered from Ebonheart silently glided towards the temple, a magnificent structure built, like the rest of the grand city of Vivec, on a large square-shaped stone structure protruding from the surrounding lagoon. The High Fane, a large tower made up of three sections, loomed above the canton, whilst the Ministry Of Truth hung ominously in mid-air, a huge floating rock surrounded by crude wooden scaffolding joining several exterior doors.

"That's the door we want" Assurrani whispered, pointing up at a high door on the side of the Ministry facing away from the Temple.

The Imperial fisherman halted the boat by dropping anchor about fifty yards from dry land. Assurrani then lifted a high-powered Dwarven steam crossbow, a rope ladder attached to the bolt, and fired at the scaffolding near the door. As always, his aim was immaculate and the bolt lodged firmly in the wooden scaffolding.

"It will only support two people's weight at a time" Camri whispered. "Ariel, we'll go first. You two, watch out for guards"

After an agonisingly long time, Camri and Ariel reached the top of the rope ladder and signalled for Assurrani and Ra'Nal to begin the ascent. As they did, Camri began picking the lock on the sturdy wooden door, hoping to the Nine that there wasn't an Ordinator on the other side. The lock sprung open just as Assurrani and Ra'Nal reached the top of the rope ladder – Ra'Nal took a dagger from his belt and cut through the rope, letting the ladder fall into the lagoon, as Camri signalled the Imperial fisherman to make a quick retreat. They'd have to find their own way back to Ebonheart.

Camri made one final check to make sure he had the two Divine Intervention scrolls, bought from the chapel in Ebonheart, then turned to face the other three.

"We all know what we're up against. All I will say is not to hang around in Vivec. As soon as you have the opportunity to, get out of here and meet me back in the inn in Ebonheart. Swim across the damn lagoon if you have to – it's not far. If we get split up, we get split up"

"And don't be afraid to kill the Ordinators in the Temple if you have to" Assurrani added. "In the rest of the city, most of them are just guards who joined the Ordinators to earn a living. But you have to be a zealot to be a Temple guard. Most people would think you were doing them a favour if you took a few down"

"Right. Come on, let's get this over with"

Camri took a deep breath, threw open the door and ran inside.


	8. Whistleblower

The Ordinators were just as imposing as Assurrani had described them. Dressed from head to foot in golden armour, ornately decorated with blue trim, and wearing full-face helmets that bore the face of the god Vivec, the five Ordinators that accosted the group all bore swords which glowed with deadly lightning enchantments.

The group had entered the Ministry of Truth to be confronted with a wide, rocky tunnel that split to the left and right, both tunnels climbing steeply upwards.

"Engage!" Camri shouted, drawing his sword. An arrow from Assurrani, even quicker on the draw, shot past him, striking an Ordinator in the throat, causing him to topple backwards, gagging, blood pouring from the wound.

"Their armour is weaker than it looks" Assurrani said under his breath – the others all heard him. Two Ordinators charged at Camri but he was ready for them, holding one off with his shield and the other with his deft swordsmanship. As he parried with them, Assurrani and Ra'Nal both drew their swords, preparing for attacks from the other two Ordinators. They ran past Camri's flank as he parried with their comrades, cutting him off from the other three.

"Go!" Camri shouted. "Just be careful!"

Assurrani and Ra'Nal bolted up the left-hand tunnel, Ariel following close behind them, as Assurrani fired off another shot, trying to hold off the Ordinators, but they were closing in on Ariel…

Help came from Camri from behind, as one of the Ordinators toppled forwards, a dagger jutting from his neck. Assurrani leapt down the sloping tunnel, grabbing Ariel's arm and dragging her back up it.

Not even breaking a sweat, Camri Everlight sprinted up the sloping, rocky tunnel. He could hear shouts of chaos echoing around the tunnels of the Ministry of Truth – the Ordinators trying to arrange a resistance. Clearly they were arrogant enough not to expect anyone to be capable of a full-frontal assault such as this one.

He reached another intersection. A tunnel led down back into the depths of the Ministry beyond him, whilst corridors to the left and right led to a pair of wooden doors. And a lone Ordinator stood at the crossroads, holding a crossbow, with Camri in his sights, nowhere to run to. Camri took a deep breath and pulled up his shield as the Ordinator raised the crossbow…

…just as his head was sliced clean off as Ra'Nal lunged at him with his axe!

"Thanks, friend" Camri said.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Assurrani called back. "Which way do we go? They're still behind us!"

"Lead them away from me, I need to find Mavena" Camri said. "Sorry, friends, but you're on your own for this one"

At that moment they made their choice. Assurrani, Ariel and Ra'Nal went for the left-hand door, Camri for the right.

The door was locked, but Camri used his momentum to simply crash straight through it. It was old and wooden, fragile, and he found himself overlooking the cell block.

"By Azura…" Camri said to himself.

He was in a huge natural cavern, almost perfectly spherical in shape. A network of wooden walkways led down to the floor of the cavern, where five wooden huts with sturdy-looking metal doors fanned across the far wall. Cells. And the whole room was absolutely crawling with Ordinators.

The first Ordinator squared up to Camri, but he was prepared. Using his shield to deflect a vicious swordstroke, he pivoted around the Ordinator, leaping off the stone onto the wooden walkways. He didn't have time to try and fight the Ordinators, he just had to get past them.

The second Ordinator had seen the fate of his comrade and filled up the narrow walkway, holding his shield out horizontally so Camri couldn't get past. But instead, Camri lunged at the Ordinator, thrusting his sword down and cutting clean through the Ordinator's exposed shield-arm. As the Ordinator cried in agony for a few seconds before passing out, Camri continued, never once taking his eyes off the row of cells.

_Second cell from the left…_

The walkway then descended to the left then doubled back on itself. Two Ordinators, one carrying a double-handed sword with sparks lancing from its surface – the sign of a deadly shock enchantment – were climbing the stairs. But Camri had no intentions of going anywhere near them. He used his sword to cut through the thick rope that lined the walkways and leapt clean off the edge of it, landing on the lower level in a forward roll, avoiding the two Ordinators. He landed at the feet of a fifth Ordinator and, unable to stop, collided with him in a clumsy heap.

Trying to get his bearings, Camri was punched viciously in the face by the Ordinator. He staggered to his feet as stars burst across his vision, hearing footfalls behind him…

The Ordinator at his feet grabbed his sword from his hilt, but Camri kicked it from his hands, then bent down, punching the Ordinator in his exposed throat with one hand and grabbing something very important off his belt with the other – the keys.

_Second cell from the left…_

The guards still hot on his heels, Camri bolted for the cell. The first key he tried didn't work, nor did the second…

"Sorry, Ariel, I should have brought you with me" he said to himself.

The third key sprung the lock open and Camri tumbled into the cell, locking the door again behind him to buy a few extra seconds.

The Dunmer woman in front of him was cowered into one corner, probably from the sheer shock of a bedraggled Imperial man letting himself into her cell. She looked beaten and malnourished.

"Mavena?" Camri asked.

"Y-yes…" the woman said nervously.

"Jauffre sent me – it seems you have friends in the right places. It's time to fly the coop"

With that, Camri threw open his leather overcoat and pulled out the two scrolls he had stuffed down the front of his trousers, handing one to Mavena.

And then, just as the Ordinators finally broke through into the cell, Camri Everlight and Mavena Aryon disappeared into thin air.

As Camri had read out the inscription on the scroll, he had seen a blinding flash of white light and experienced the briefest sensation of weightlessness – no, more than that, being removed from the mortal plane itself – before he felt his boots land on solid ground again. He was in a small courtyard overlooking the lagoon surrounding Vivec, in a castle of some sort bearing the signs of Imperial architecture. A small chapel rose in front of him.

"Ebonheart" a voice explained. It was Mavena Aryon, standing next to him. "It feels nice to be back on Imperial soil"

The Dunmer woman turned to face him. "You clearly know my name – what's yours?"

"Camri Everlight. Sent here by Jauffre, as I've explained already"

"An attack like that isn't normally how the Blades work," Mavena said, seeming to think out loud. "Jauffre must have need of me. It's to do with the Dragon Break, isn't it?"

Camri nodded. "We're getting somewhere, but we've hit a dead end. You know both about the Stones of Ada-Mantia and the group behind the Dragon Break. Radash gra-Moran is back at Cloud Ruler Temple with Jauffre hitting the books…"

"Ah, you have Radash? Excellent. Alright. What have you managed to achieve so far?"

"The Third Stone is back in its place in Numidium's Heart. We have the Fourth and Fifth Stones and know their locations. And an Altmer named Mellengal, who we believe to be very high up in this organisation that is opposing us, was killed in Elsweyr"

"Yes, he's the man who performed the ceremony. I'm glad to see that he has met his end. But… if he is in Elsweyr… By the Gods, he must have gone to Elsweyr personally…"

"That's right. All I know is that the last of the Manes has been killed"

Mavena shook her head sadly. "They got the last of the Manes? Camri, the Seventh Stone will be the hardest of them all to find. Nobody knows what it is, or even where the Orichalc tower is. All I have is one tiny clue…"

Mavena then recited a verse from memory.

"_The Nil-Tower is the Greatest Tower Of Them All._

_The First is the Red Tower_

_The Second is the White Tower_

_The Third is the Walking Tower_

_The Fourth is the Inverted Tower_

_The Fifth is the Crystal Tower_

_The Sixth is the Cavern of Glass_

_The Seventh is the Hidden Tower"_

"It's an inscription in Dagoth Ur's citadel in Red Mountain. As you can hear, 'Hidden Tower' is the best clue it gives. But there has to be a clue relating to the Khajiit and their worship of the Lunar Lattice. If I could speak with Radash about it…"

"You will, soon enough. Now – the group behind the Dragon Break"

"It's not good news, I'm afraid. While I was on the ground here I was trying to research how big the group is, and I came to the conclusion that we cannot defeat them, simply prevent the Dragon Break before it happens. They are too big, too widespread…"

"Who are they?"

"A group of Elves, called the Selective. They have been around since the first major Dragon Break – are you familiar with its history?"

"Yes, it was an attempt to banish the Elven Auri-El from Akatosh"

Mavena nodded. "That's right, and then the Elves wanted revenge. Ever since the first Dragon Break, the Empire has dominated Tamriel. Elven power has waned and waned as the Empire has gone stronger. It was only days after the Dragon Break when the Selective were formed, and now it seems they have gathered just enough power to tip the scales and end Imperial rule. The Selective wants to undo that Dragon Break, but to do that they have to undo everything that has gone before it. So, as I'm sure Jauffre or Chancellor Ocato have told you, if this Dragon Break happens, we will see the very destruction of reality itself. The total destruction of everything that Imperial rule has ever achieved"

"They're a doomsday cult, then" Camri said.

"Exactly, and a big one too. They get their way by pulling the strings. Think of all the Stones that have been destroyed recently.

"The First Stone here in Vvardenfell. It was at the centre of a war revolving around Dunmer politics, something which is very easy to influence. The Selective have been hard at work for thousands of years ensuring that Dagoth Ur is portrayed as 'bad', when perhaps all he was trying to do was protect the First Stone. But, when all of Vvardenfell finally rallied behind the Nerevarine, its fate was sealed.

"The Second Stone, the Amulet of Kings. Mankar Camoran was a member of the Selective, but not a high-ranking one. They tricked him into thinking that the Mythic Dawn was his quest, and that he stole the Amulet for his own personal gain. But, again, what they were really doing was creating a scenario which would end in the destruction of one of the Ada-Mantian Stones"

"The Third Stone…" Camri said nervously. "Mannimarco was using it to draw power from. But maybe that wasn't all he was using it for"

"Exactly. Strike three for the Selective – by associating an evil character with a Stone, they die as a martyr but the Stone is destroyed too. I'm pleased that you managed to make it safe somehow – we could not risk losing the Third Stone. It cannot be rebuilt"

Camri could not believe what he was hearing. "So Mankar Camoran, Mannimarco, Dagoth Ur… they were all just pawns? This doomsday cult has been influencing history ever since the Dragon Break?"

"Yes. They have been working for a long time, but now they are finally mobilising. First Dagoth Ur, then the Oblivion Crisis, then Mannimarco, and now this… And I understand why I was imprisoned in the Ministry of Truth too. Berel Sala – the chief of the Ordinators – is Selective to the core.

"This is big, Camri, really big. As is fitting for a Dragon Break, this is a pivotal point in the history of Tamriel. Elder Scrolls will speak of it. Either we succeed, or this fork of Tamriel's history ends"

Meanwhile, Falas Assurrani, Ariel Lasaille and Ra'Nal burst through the other door at the intersection in the Ministry to be presented with a small, almost empty room. Only a desk with a ledger and a set of keys on it sat in the centre of the room.

"No other way out…" Ariel said.

Assurrani turned around. "This is bad"

The two Ordinators who had been pursuing them up the corridor reached the intersection and spotted the three quickly. Assurrani and Ra'Nal prepared to fight them, but then saw several more Ordinators flooding out of the cell block, the remains of the guard unit that Camri had fought. They were outnumbered three-to-one.

"This is really bad"

"What do we do?" Ra'Nal asked.

Assurrani dropped his bow to the ground. "The only thing we can do. I'm sorry"

When Falas Assurrani opened his eyes, he could see nothing, but could feel the fabric blindfold wrapped around his head. He was sitting down, his hands manacled to two hooks on the wall behind him. He made sure not to move – he didn't want anyone to know he was awake. Not yet. His head still throbbed from the last thing he could remember – being hit around the head with a club by an Ordinator in the Ministry of Truth.

Then, he heard voices.

"_What shall we do with them, Sir?"_

"_Take the girl and the Khajiit away. Make sure their deaths are honourable. Leave the Dunmer here, but tell the Morag Tong that we have him. Return to me with their offer"_

Assurrani's heart skipped a beat. They planned to ransom him back to the Morag Tong.

Suddenly, someone strode over to him and pulled the blindfold roughly off his head. Before him stood a Dunmer man – fat, bald, ageing and with the sort of facial expression that can only come from a lifetime of frowning at people. Assurrani recognised him.

"Berel Sala," he said in disgust. "Has nobody realised yet that you are not the sort of person who should be leading the Ordinators?"

"Clearly not" Sala replied evenly. "So, Falas Assurrani, what were you doing snooping around in my Ministry?"

"Can't tell you" Assurrani sneered. "Official secrets and all that…"

"I know of your quest" Sala said. "Don't play me for a fool. I imagine that someone of your talents is proving invaluable. Wouldn't it be a shame for them to lose you?"

"What, along with the rest of my friends who you are about to kill?"

Sala said nothing, instead walking towards a table with a crossbow laying on it. They were in a small, bare-walled room – it looked like an office of some sort. But, just before Berel Sala picked up the crossbow, a soft voice stopped him.

"Berel, what are you doing?"

An elderly Dunmer wearing a purple and gold robe walked into the room. Assurrani recognised him too – Archcanon Tholer Saryoni, the High Priest of the Tribunal Temple. They must have been somewhere in the Halls of Justice, in the City Temple beneath the Ministry of Truth.

"He was caught trying to break a prisoner out of the Ministry, Archcanon" Sala said, suddenly sounding a bit less confident. "You know that the punishment for that is death…"

"Well, conveniently I am here to tell you to let him go, along with Mavena Aryon. She is too important to be rotting in one of your cells in the days ahead. Word has it that the Blades are looking for her…"

"Yes, which why I am keeping her prisoner. We cannot have her jeopardising our plan, can we?"

Archcanon Saryoni's face turned white. "By Azura, you're one of them…"

Assurrani saw that Sala was about to reach for the crossbow. With all his might, he heaved on the wrist-irons, pulling them free from the crumbling stone wall. He leapt to his feet, bounded across the room and snatched the crossbow from the table a fraction of a second before Sala managed to get hold of it.

Without pausing, Assurrani raised the crossbow and fired it at point-blank range into Berel Sala's heart. The fat Dunmer slumped to the ground, breathing heavily in pain.

"Word reaches me quickly these days, Falas Assurrani" Archcanon Saryoni said. "Berel Sala is one of the group trying to oppose you. You have done the world a great favour by killing him. Go now, with the Tribunal's blessing, find your friends and save the world. The Temple will help you where we can"

"Bless you, Archcanon" Assurrani said, gripping the crossbow and bolting from the office. The crossbow had one bolt left in it – he had to make the shot count, whatever it may be.


	9. Ariel's Glass

Ariel and Ra'Nal said nothing. They were stood before a squat wooden door, an Ordinator guard stood behind them, almost breathing down their necks. They knew of their fate – if they could defeat an Ordinator in combat in the city arena, they would be given their freedom. The Ordinators had been told to make their deaths honourable, and this – letting them go down fighting – was their way of doing it.

"Don't put yourself in danger, Ariel" Ra'Nal said eventually. "I have come to realise that you are much more important in this quest than me"

"I'll still be able to help you" Ariel replied.

Then, the Ordinator behind them pushed them through the door into the pit of the Arena. It was a wide, circular pit, its walls about fifteen feet high, with absolutely no way of climbing them to escape. Above it were the stalls, filled with a mixture of townspeople and Ordinators, and beyond that was the huge open space of the canton, its mighty domed roof hundreds of feet above them.

And in the centre of the pit was the man they were to fight, almost fully suited (minus a helmet) in ebony armour and carrying a Daedric longsword.

"Ah, shit…" Ra'Nal said to himself, picking up a rusty iron axe off the ground next to him. It had clearly been staged to be a totally unfair fight.

As Ra'Nal approached the centre of the circle, he felt magic surge through him as Ariel cast a spell on him from behind – what the effects of it were, he didn't know.

The Ordinator charged at him, his sword raised above his head, and slammed it downwards as hard as he could. Ra'Nal feebly blocked the attack with his axe, the superior blade slicing straight through the axe's rusty handle. Ra'Nal tried to back off, but not quickly enough – the Ordinator plunged his sword straight through the Khajiit's heart.

"No!" Ariel cried. But as the Ordinator pulled his sword out of Ra'Nal's lifeless body, he staggered back, weakened – Ariel's damage reflection spell that she had cast on Ra'Nal had done its job. It bought her time to look for a weapon.

Using telekinesis, she picked up the head of Ra'Nal's shattered axe and pulled it back until it hovered just before her, then hurled it forwards at tremendous power. The axe embedded itself firmly in the Ordinator's chestplate but did not seem to harm him other than knocking him back a few feet with the sheer force of the collision. A few seconds later, he was back on the attack again.

Desperately, Ariel looked around as the crowd began to whoop and cheer. There were no more weapons she could use anywhere.

But then, when the Ordinator was mere yards away from Ariel, he was thrown to the side as a star-shaped fountain of blood burst from the side of his head. At the same time, Falas Assurrani leapt down into the pit, carrying a crossbow. The crowd began to roar and boo in protest. Assurrani grabbed Ariel by the hand.

"I know you're not meant to have outside help in Arena matches but the fate of the world's at stake here!" Assurrani shouted to the crowd. "Go and do something more honourable with your time!"

Assurrani burst through the door that led out of the pit and was confronted by the lone Ordinator guard. Assurrani levelled the crossbow at him. It was unloaded, but the guard would not have been able to see that. He froze in his tracks.

"Are you married, my friend?" Assurrani said to the Ordinator.

The guard nodded.

"Do you have children?"

"Two" the guard answered.

"You have a job to do. I do not want to kill an innocent man and deprive two children of their father. Let us go"

The Ordinator nodded and dropped his sword to the ground. Assurrani and Ariel hustled past him, Assurrani never once taking aim off the guard's head.

"That was a very honourable thing you just did, Falas" Ariel remarked.

"He was just a city guard in an Ordinator uniform" Assurrani replied. "I cannot kill a man just for trying to earn a living"

Assurrani led Ariel through the cantons, back down to the canalside walkways, until they crossed a bridge to the north that led off the lagoon and onto the mainland. As dawn was breaking, they could see Camri and Mavena at the arranged meeting point, a small farmer's jetty on the finger of land that led to Ebonheart. He was pleased to see that they had somehow managed to commandeer a small rowing boat to get them to the Imperial docks quickly.

"Only two return…" Camri said as Assurrani and Ariel made it onto the rowing boat.

"Ra'Nal died defending me" Ariel explained. "He let himself die so I could escape"

Camri hung his head. "Do you have any good news? It would be a change to hear some…"

"One bad guy down" Assurrani said. "Yours truly fired a crossbow straight into the captain of the Ordinators, who it seems is more corrupt than House Hlaalu…"

Mavena stifled a laugh – obviously it was a Dunmer in-joke…

"What have you found out?" Ariel asked.

Mavena took a deep breath and explained everything she had told Camri about the Selective, including how the three of them had been pawns in the attempted destruction of the Mantella.

"Damn. We've been up against some tough opposition before, but this…" Assurrani said. "Nobody of Elven descent can truly be trusted"

Camri glared at Assurrani.

"That's not funny!" Assurrani snapped. "And, on top of that, we have two Stones still to find, and four Towers to reach…"

"The Fourth and Fifth Stones will simply be a case of taking them to their Towers – Snow-Throat and Crystal Tower, and placing them there" Ariel said. "But now we need to find the Sixth Stone. I know that Radash is working on the location of the Tower, but nobody's even thought about the Stone yet"

"I have a couple of clues," Mavena said. "In fact, I know what we are looking for, but I don't know where to find it.

"First, in the riddle I told Camri earlier, the Sixth Tower is referred to as The Cavern Of Glass. Now, the bedrock of Valenwood is very hard and there are actually very few caves in the whole province – those that do exist are usually caused by volcanic activity, dormant lava chambers and the like. The Cavern Of Glass must therefore refer to a volcanic cave filled with glass – the same glass that your sword is made from, Camri"

"That'll narrow the search down a lot," Camri said. "But what about the Stone itself?"

"Hidden deep in the writings of Kagrenac was a peculiar verse," Mavena explained. "I studied his works quite a lot whilst I was infiltrating the Selective in Dagoth Ur's citadel. These two lines appear:

"_The Fifth and Sixth Towers, and the Fifth and Sixth Stones_

_Are made the same"_

"What I interpret this to mean is that the Stones for these two Towers are made from the same material as the Towers themselves. Camri, you told me that the Fifth Stone was an orb of clear crystal, correct?"

Camri nodded.

"That would tie it to Crystal Tower in Alinor, then. And, by the same logic, the Sixth Stone would be made of green volcanic glass"

Ariel, who had been silent for a long time, spoke softly. "The Sixth Stone – I've seen it, I know where it is…"

Ariel began to explain. "I've even held it in my hands before. I found it in an old fortress in High Rock. It was a few years ago – I was fifteen. There was nothing remarkable to be found in the fortress, but in one of its towers, on one of the rafters, was a pile of glass. Most of it was sharp pieces – raw ingots of volcanic glass – but there was a perfectly cut sphere of it too. I thought it was just the stash of treasure that the warlord of the fortress had found.

"I took it all, but I got attacked on the way out. There were four bandits. They didn't hurt me but they took everything I had on me, including the glass sphere…"

"The Sixth Stone" Mavena said in awe.

"Who would be so dishonourable as to rob a fifteen-year-old girl?" Assurrani spat.

"The Selective, that's who" Camri said. "Let me guess – at least one of them was Elven"

Ariel nodded. "The person who took the Stone was an Altmer"

"So do you know where the Stone is now?"

"I think so…" Ariel stuttered. "It's in there somewhere, I just… need to sleep first… Ask me again tomorrow!"

Cloud Ruler Temple had become a hive of activity since the group had gone to rescue Mavena. King Jararka had returned from Argonia with two things – the Fourth Stone, and Gajin, his most skilled treasure-hunter, a wiry and agile Argonian who had recovered many of the rarities on display in Jararka's throne room. Steward Aldaroth had also sent his representative from Valenwood, the woman named Lasatel. She was in the courtyard with Gajin, the pair practicing swordfighting using a pair of harmless blunt swords.

Whilst Radash gra-Moran had reportedly not moved from the Temple's study, Jauffre, Chancellor Ocato and Captain Larand Pasqual, the Battlemage captain, sat pored over maps of Tamriel in the Great Hall, co-ordinating how best to approach the task of getting to the Towers and replacing their Stones. Their voices echoed around the hall.

"Perhaps you should lead the party to the Throat of the World, Captain, as you have been there before…"

"There's still been no word from the Emperor – I am getting concerned now"

When Camri, Assurrani, Ariel and Mavena finally made it back to the Temple in the early hours of the morning, three of them went straight to bed but Camri walked straight up to Jauffre and Chancellor Ocato and told them what he had learned of the Selective.

"This is bad, Camri, worse than I could have imagined. If what you're saying is true then you're right, we cannot trust anyone"

"It's all been going too well so far. The Stones have all fallen more or less into our hands. I would not be surprised if somebody is even pulling the strings on what we are doing now, setting us up for failure…"

"Gentlemen, you put me in a very awkward position…" Chancellor Ocato said nervously. "I am not sure how to convince you of my good intentions"

"You do not need to, Chancellor, it's the Emperor that concerns me" Jauffre replied. "Did you know that he has Altmer blood in him?"

Camri shook his head.

"Obviously his shot at the throne came because he was a factor of the Septim dynasty – his father was a second cousin to Martin. But, since he kept the Carius surname from his father, people ignored the other side of the family – his mother is actually pure-blood Altmer. There was something of an outrage in her estate back in the Summerset Isle when she married an Imperial man, albeit a very wealthy one"

"You think he could be Selective?" Ocato asked in shock.

"No, that would involve Emperor Carius looking out for someone other than himself" Camri replied before Jauffre could say anything. "Besides, he likes his power too much. How can he rule over a world that doesn't exist?"

"And what of Arch-Mage Onstario?" Chancellor Ocato asked, referring to the Altmer leader of the Mages' Guild. "Is he not orchestrating the work in the Imperial City to recreate the Chim-el Adabal? If he is secretly working against us it will put everything in jeopardy…"

"I'll have a few of my spies audit the work that is going on," Jauffre said confidently. "If anything is astray, Arch-Mage Onstario will find himself in the Imperial Prison very quickly"

Later, Camri went to see Radash, who was still at work in the study – he was lying on the floor, a huge pile of books and maps strewn around him.

"Burning the midnight oil?" Camri asked.

"Have been since I got here" Radash replied. "Did you get Mavena?"

Camri nodded. "She's having a rest – she needs it. But she told me enough to give you a few pointers in the right direction"

"I'm getting somewhere with Falinesti. Your maps have proved invaluable – I've been able to track the city's movements over the years. There's no maps dating to the time of the Dragon Break but there's one from only a couple of hundred years after it – that narrows it down a lot"

Camri explained Mavena's theory of the cave being near a volcano to Radash.

"Thank you, friend, that makes the search even easier. But we'll need the Stone too…"

"Already under control"

For the first time since realising the full scale of what he was up against, Radash gra-Moran smiled.

"I'm starting to make progress on the Elsweyr Stone too. As soon as I heard Ra'Nal refer to it as the 'Last Stone' I started searching for references to that instead, and I found one – in some of the writings of the Psijic Order. 'With Orsiniae lies the Last Stone'"

"With Orsiniae lies… there is a town called Orcrest in Elsweyr, is there not?"

"That's what I thought," Radash said. "No towers there though – apparently it's little more than a desert trading town with a relatively new Imperial legion garrison. But, of course, it might not actually be a tower. Would you have thought the Third Tower to be Numidium unless you knew exactly what you were looking for?"

With Radash's words, Mavena's description of the Orichalc tower – 'The Hidden Tower' – took on an entirely new meaning.

A few hours later, the rest of the group resurfaced – Mavena Aryon went straight to Radash's office where she briefed him, Jauffre and Chancellor Ocato on everything she had learned of the Selective, whilst Ariel and Assurrani found Camri in the armory, hammering out some of the dents in his shield.

"I think I know where the Sixth Stone is," Ariel said to Camri. "I knew I would have a dream as soon as I remembered holding the Sixth Stone. I saw the entrance to an Ayleid ruin, high up in the mountains – the Jeralls, I think. There is a long stone causeway leading to the ruin's door, and there is a statue of an Ayleid warrior holding a sword above the doorway. I'm sorry, I don't know any more than that…"

"It's alright, I know where you mean" Camri said, smiling. "I'd recognise that entrance anywhere. It's north of Chorrol, about five miles cross-country from here. Don't you love it when things come together like this?"

"Ayleid ruin? Any ideas what we're up against?" Assurrani asked.

"Standard traps, but as far as occupants go, I don't know," Camri answered. "Although it's probably too remote for bandits to bother with"

Soon, the three set off, flanked by two of the new members of the group, the two treasure hunters, Gajin and Lasatel. The five who were to retrieve the Sixth Stone of Ada-Mantia.


	10. Fire On The Mountain

It was a quick journey to reach Ninendava – Camri knew the footpaths around the Jerall Mountains like the back of his hand. At one point, they passed the once-sacred ruins of Sancre Tor, now infested by undead creatures – a lone skeleton archer took aim at the five interlopers but Assurrani and Gajin were both quicker on the draw – the skeleton went down as it was struck by an arrow in the forehead and another in the throat.

"Yes, this is it…" Ariel said as the five approached Ninendava. A rough stone causeway led up to a squat doorway built into the mountainside, the statue of a sword-branding Ayleid king stood above it.

"Who gets sentry duty, then?" Lasatel asked. "You never know who might have followed us here…"

"Nobody followed us here" Camri said with an air of certainty. "And I don't know what we're up against inside yet. We might need all five of us on board"

Ariel stared at the doorway. "One figure stood just behind the door, Camri"

Camri nodded. "Thanks. Falas, give me some cover"

Cautiously, Camri approached the stone door, his glass sword in one hand and his lightweight iron shield in the other, and pushed it open with his boot.

The Dunmer just beyond the door was most surprised, moreso when he saw Falas Assurrani crouched in a bush fifty yards away, a longbow aimed at his head.

"What?" the Dunmer asked. Camri lowered his sword. The Dunmer was dressed in chainmail armour, a silver sword sheathed on his belt. He also had the cold, dead grey eyes of a vampire.

"You have something that the Empire has great need of" Camri answered.

"The Empire? Their affairs do not concern us, and if you mean the gemstone, it is property of our coven"

"What's your name, friend?"

"Valen Elseth, Imperial"

"Mr Elseth – Valen – did you see the Oblivion gates a few days ago"

"I did, as it happens. Hard to miss, weren't they?"

Camri took a deep breath. "They opened because a gemstone, very similar to the one that you have, was taken from its natural resting place. Perhaps you'd reconsider"

Valen looked Camri up and down. He took in his rare and valuable glass sword, his specially-constructed shield, and the array of jewellery around his person that glowed with enchantments. He looked at the four people behind him – the two other treasure hunters, the pretty and harmless-looking Breton girl in the dark blue robe and the unblinking eyes of the Dunmer marksman crouched in the bushes. They were no ordinary group of tomb raiders.

"You should come and speak with the Patriarch," the vampire said eventually. "Follow me"

Cautiously, the five followed the Dunmer vampire into Ninendava. As the procession passed a small side-chamber, Valen called into it.

"Laucard, you're on watch. I won't be long"

A Breton wandered out of the room, a sword held idly by his side.

Then, as they passed into a wider corridor, Valen pressed a small button. Two black Varla stones in ceiling-mounted pedestals began to glow an ominous red. "Don't worry, we have a minute before they start discharging. We have a lot of problems with unwanted visitors at Ninendava, you see. It's mentioned by name in a book…"

"The Song of Pelinal" Camri said, finishing his sentence. "Volume Three, to be exact"

Valen nodded. "A lot of pilgrims and witchhunters seem to have got it into their heads that it's a holy place of some sort"

"It was also quite a strategic position for the Ayleids – a mountain retreat for them"

"Indeed – the amount of Ayleid armaments we found in here was incredible…"

Assurrani shook his head. They were like two peas in a pod. But he noticed that, even as Camri spoke, he glanced around the ruin, taking it in, plotting it out. Looking for escape routes. He never once took his eyes off the ball.

After passing through a huge open chamber, Valen led the five into a small ante-room, with a large altar in its centre, and an elderly Altmer, with straggly grey hair and a long, flowing beard, seated in a throne next to it. And there, lying on the altar, was a huge, perfectly spherical orb of lurid green glass – the Sixth Stone.

Valen pulled a lever and a sturdy iron portcullis thundered down behind the five, sealing them in the throne room.

"What is your business, travellers?" the elderly vampire asked. "I assume that since Valen let you in that you mean us no harm"

"We don't" Ariel answered. "We come to seek use of the glass orb"

The Altmer slowly rose from his throne, walked over to the altar and picked up the Sixth Stone.

"You seek use of it? Then you know our gemstone's true purpose?"

Ariel nodded nervously.

"The Sixth Stone of Ada-Mantia has been in the hands of our coven for a few years now. Before that, it had quite a journey around Tamriel. We are just lucky it was never broken up to turn into armour or weaponry. I have been waiting for someone to come and use it for its intended purpose"

"Sir…" Camri began.

"Astarel, please" the Altmer replied, smiling.

"Astarel. The fate of the world is at stake here. The Stones must be returned to their resting places"

"Young Imperial, we have little concern for outside affairs in Ninendava. But, despite that, I cannot sit back and watch our world be destroyed. I presume the Selective have put their plan into operation then?"

Camri nodded. "The Dragon Break is coming…"

"Know this, young Imperial. It is a piece of information that seems to have been lost in almost all the records concerning the Stones. The Second Stone – the Chim-el Adabal. When you reforge it, it must be reforged physically, not just magically…"

_Shnick!_

Without warning, Valen Elseth strode over to Astarel, drew his sword and sliced at the old Altmer's throat!

But Falas Assurrani had been watching him the whole time, and lunged at Valen, knocking the blade from his wrist with a split-second to spare – indeed, Valen's blade nicked Astarel's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. Valen then summoned a Daedric blade and began lashing wildly at Assurrani, who stumbled to his feet, carried by the momentum of his attack.

But the others snapped into action. Camri and Gajin both drew swords, but it was Lasatel, the Bosmer, who was the quickest, drawing a throwing knife off her belt and hurling it overarm, straight into Valen's forehead, killing him in an instant.

"It seems that Valen Elseth's allegiances were not necessarily with our coven" Astarel said, getting to his feet and wiping the hairline cut on his throat.

Just then, Camri shot a glance through the portcullis.

"Astarel, how many members of your coven are Elven?"

Astarel blinked. "Nearly all of them…"

Camri shook his head. "This is all kinds of bad"

He pointed out of the portcullis. Around fifteen vampires, a mixture of the three Elven races, were entrenched on their side of the large open chamber beyond the portcullis, fighting four others – two Imperials, a Nord and an Orc, who had leapt for cover behind a pile of crates and begun returning fire with longbows. Ninendava had just turned into a battlefield.

Camri spied another rudimentary barricade on the opposite side of the large chamber, the other side of the group of Selective vampires from them. If he could only…

"Alright everyone, give 'em hell! Ariel, look after the Stone and for Gods' sake keep your head down!"

Camri then pulled the lever that controlled the portcullis and a shocking volley of fire burst out of the small room – arrows fired by Assurrani and Gajin, a throwing knife from Lasatel and a fireball from Astarel. Two of the Selective convulsed wildly as the attacks pummelled them.

The effect was instantaneous. Nearly all of the group of Selective turned their sights on the small room. A vampire raised a longbow but Assurrani, quicker on the draw, nailed him as he reached for an arrow from his quiver. Then, Camri drew his sword and leapt out into the fray. Arrows shot by him in both directions, the Selective archers focused on trying to take down Assurrani and Gajin. Several of the Selective drew melee weapons, but Camri was ready for them – the old Legion soldier in him was back. He parried their blows, getting his killing strike in as quickly as he could. He danced between two of them as they lunged at him, blocking one blow with his shield and another with his sword as he span, then used his momentum to decapitate the pair of them in one single swordstroke.

But then, as a fireball roared past his head, he saw the remaining Selective gear up their attack in a whole new way. Most of them had reached the barricade and were hurling magical ordnance, not at Camri, but over his head…

A shocking explosion rocked the ante-room behind them. Lasatel and Ariel leapt out in time, but Assurrani, Gajin and Astarel were all thrown to the floor by the blast.

"Get out of that room!" Camri shouted, drawing his bow. Assurrani quickly leapt to his feet and did the same, extinguishing a fireball mid-flight with an amazingly aimed shot. Lasatel drew her shortsword, Gajin keeping his bow, and the pair made a break for Camri, still fighting off the Selective footsoldiers and trying to dodge arrows, making for the only cover he could see – a large altar, halfway between the barricade and him. As he cut down one final maceman, he saw the altar and made a run for it.

But then, an archer jumped up from behind the altar, his bow raised. He had been hiding there all along. Camri was a sitting duck…

As he closed his eyes and waited for the impact of the arrow, he heard a drawstring snap. But something was odd about the sound.

It could have been an echo, but it sounded like _two _drawstrings. He opened his eyes to see the Selective archer fall to the side, slammed by a massive impact to the side of his head. The archer's grip on the bow released, the arrow fired but went wide, arcing up and clanging harmlessly against the ceiling.

One lone Khajiit archer stood behind the barricade on the other side of the room – all that was left of the non-Selective part of the coven.

Camri reached the altar and dived down behind it, poking over the top to fire an arrow at the barricade.

"Get Ariel over here!" Camri shouted back to the others. Gajin and Lasatel reached the altar next to him.

"Camri, what in the name of the Gods is going on?" Gajin asked.

"The Selective are everywhere" Camri said bleakly. "Looks like they didn't want anyone getting out of here with the Sixth Stone"

It was only then that Camri realised that it must have taken hundreds of years of subtle infiltration to get this many members inside one small coven of vampires…

He was snapped back into reality as three fireballs simultaneously roared over his head, aiming straight for the anteroom!

Astarel stood in the doorway, firing off a bolt of lightning at the barricade, when Assurrani appeared behind him and crash-tackled him to the ground – in the process, an arrow thudded into his shoulder. Ariel did all she could and dived to the ground as the three fireballs flew through the doorway into the anteroom and exploded with shocking force. If any of them had still been in there, they would have been incinerated alive.

Ariel grabbed Astarel by the hand, and using all her strength, heaved the old vampire to his feet. The wounded Assurrani crawled behind a crate.

"Alright, you two, cover Ariel! I need her over here!" Camri ordered.

Gajin and Lasatel nodded and in one synchronised move, the three raised up out of cover, their bows raised, and fired.

Two marksmen were hit, and a third arrow sent another archer's weapon flying out of his hands, but a spinning red bolt of energy erupted out of somewhere behind the barricade, engulfing Gajin's bow and causing it to crumble to dust!

At that moment, Ariel and Astarel ducked down behind the altar. Fireballs began to pummel the other side of it.

"If they're going to use magic against us, we'll do the same!" Camri said to Ariel. "I'm going after Falas. Watch my back!"

With that, Camri began to crouch-run back towards the anteroom. An opportunist marksman fired, but his arrow reached the altar then simply stopped in mid-air.

"What the fuck?" someone shouted from behind the barricade. Ariel released her telekinesis spell and the arrow fell uselessly to the ground.

Camri reached cover and skidded to a halt beside Assurrani. The arrow was still jutting from his shoulder.

"You alright?"

"I've survived worse" Assurrani replied through gritted teeth.

Camri drew a cheap iron dagger off his belt – a last-ditch weapon – and offered its wooden handle to Assurrani.

"Bite on that, and watch Ariel. It should distract you from the pain"

"I hate you sometimes, did you know that?"

Camri placed his hands on the wooden shaft of the arrow. "You're more than welcome to walk around with an arrow sticking out of your arm for the rest of your life…"

"Remember what I told you to do" Ariel said firmly to Astarel. The old Altmer nodded.

And with that, Ariel stood up, straight into the line of fire of the four remaining Selective members. It was time to break the stalemate.

Three arrows flew towards her but then bent down and hit the altar, manipulated by telekinesis.

A bolt of lightning hit her but just absorbed straight into her. Licks of lightning appeared at her fingertips.

Astarel placed his hands on Ariel and magicka began to surge out of him, filling Ariel until she could take no more…

As Assurrani cried in pain in the background, an absolutely enormous bolt of lightning lanced out of each of Ariel's hands, slamming into the barricade with tremendous force and blasting it to pieces. Hit by a combination of lightning and flying debris, the four Selective members never stood a chance.

Silence fell over the huge chamber.

"Thank you, travellers. The Ninendava coven nearly came to an end, but it will recover" Astarel said. Mal'ak, the Khajiit, stood next to him. "Take the Sixth Stone with my blessing"

"Astarel, you were about to tell us something about the Second Stone…" Camri began.

"Yes. Some very important information. I'm sure you are aware of the array of Ayleid stones that must be created to re-imbue the magic into the remaining eight points of the Chim-el Adabal, but you must also replace the ninth point. There is a cave in Morrowind where the crystal that the Chim-el Adabal was cut from grows freely. It is a sacred Tribunal Temple site – I hope you are on good terms with them"

"It just so happens that we are" Assurrani said. "Thank you for the information, Astarel"

On the way out, the group encountered the Varla stone trap that Valen Elseth had set on the way in, but twin arrows from Assurrani and Lasatel shattered the two ominously glowing Varla stones, allowing them to escape.

The Sixth Stone had been reclaimed.


	11. The Stones Are Returned

_Cloud Ruler Temple_

Jauffre stood before the ever-expanding group of people assembled in Cloud Ruler Temple's Great Hall – since the others had last been here, Captain Pasqual had sent for a company of Battlemages from the Arcane University.

"The time has now come, people of Tamriel, to replace the three Stones we have in their resting places. This will be a united effort – three separate teams will go to each Tower. Since Crystal Tower and Tree-Sap Tower are new territory to us, I have taken the decision to send our two experts to these Towers.

"First, the Throat of the World, and the Fourth Stone. Captain Pasqual, since you have been there before, you and your Battlemages shall go to the Tower, along with Gajin…"

"And myself" King Jararka said. "Now is not the time for leaders to sit back and watch others do their bidding. I shall personally take the Fourth Stone with me"

Jauffre nodded. "Very good, Your Majesty. To Crystal Tower in Alinor, Summerset Isle, with the Fifth Stone, I shall let Camri Everlight lead the team. Ariel Lasaille shall go with you, as will Radash gra-Moran and his Blade bodyguard, Sartan"

"Finally, Radash, you have the location of the Sixth Tower, Tree-Sap"

"I've narrowed it down to a cave on the edge of a large dormant volcano, around fifty miles away from the current site of Falinesti. I expect the crater will have been flooded and turned into a lake, so be prepared for a swim…"

As he spoke, Radash marked the location of the cave on a map and handed it to Jauffre.

"Falas Assurrani, Mavena Aryon and Lasatel, therefore, will go to the Tree-Sap tower with the Sixth Stone"

After Jauffre's orders had been given, various groups splintered away and began their preparations. Camri and Radash made a beeline straight for Jauffre and Chancellor Ocato, who seemed to have become a permanent resident of the Temple.

"After you, Camri" Radash said politely.

"Grandmaster, we received some information in Ninendava that requires your immediate attention" Camri said to Jauffre. "The Second Stone…"

"I spoke to Arch-Mage Onstario this morning" Jauffre said. "Progress is good"

"Yes, but there's one more piece in the puzzle"

Camri told Jauffre what Astarel had told him about the missing piece of the Chim-el Adabal, the once-nine pointed star atop White Gold Tower.

"Figures" Radash said. "The Psijic Order document about recreating the Second Stone keeps mentioning 'an ingot of High Royalty' having to be placed at the top of the tower. 'High Royalty' is Cyrodiilic for the 'Adabal' part of the Ayleid name for the Second Stone, so I just presumed it was referring to what's left of the Stone up there…"

"I hear Falas secured the Temple's co-operation with our quest" Jauffre said. "I shall send a messenger to them at once. Radash, what did you need to speak to me about?"

"The Seventh Stone. I have made more progress," Radash said. "And, in case I don't come back…"

"Wow, you're almost as pessimistic as Falas" Camri remarked. Radash shot a glance at him then continued.

"I've been reading 'Where Were You When The Dragon Broke' – it's pretty much a set text on the Ada-Mantian Stones. It mentions Khajiit lore quite a lot. In the book, a Khajiit Mane says that the other races of Tamriel knew nothing of what happened during the first Dragon Break because we 'did not have the sugar to see it' – it's clearly a reference to Moon Sugar. And we know that the Manes are central to the existence of the Seventh Stone…"

"I have a man on the ground in Elsweyr at the moment" Jauffre said. "You are aware, I'm sure, that Manes can only be born on a day that matches a very specific celestial alignment – when Masser and Secunda are not only totally aligned with each other but also with the Sun. The Sun is eclipsed by Masser, which in turn is eclipsed by Secunda. That day occurred, purely by luck, the same day that the Oblivion gates all opened. I expect the Selective were too pre-occupied that day to pay it much heed"

"And?" Camri asked hopefully.

"A child was indeed born in the town of Orcrest on that day. He is currently being held safely, with his mother, in the Imperial Legion garrison in that town"

"But I'm afraid I don't know entirely how the Seventh Stone can be reconstructed – only that the Stone, the Tower, the Mane, the Lunar Lattice and Moon Sugar are deeply intertwined" Radash said.

"All I can do is send a team to Elsweyr once our three Stones are laid in place" Jauffre said reservedly. "Perhaps, by then, Za'hir will have learned more"

"The Emperor has finally broken his silence, to an extent" Chancellor Ocato said. "He released a statement about Mannimarco and the onset of Oblivion gates. He told of the Mantella, but to his credit he hasn't mentioned the wider picture"

"No Emperor wants widespread panic on their hands" Radash added.

"Oh, and while we're at it, I've checked out Arch-Mage Onstario," Jauffre said. "He's clean. The project is proceeding well, and Onstario seems to have no links with unsavoury characters. But of course, there's still plenty of others out there who can cause trouble to us…"

Meanwhile, Ariel took Falas Assurrani gently by the arm and led him into a quiet corner of the Temple.

"Falas, I've got something important to tell you…" Ariel said nervously.

"Another dream?" Assurrani asked. Ariel nodded. "What was it?"

"It was about you. I didn't see many details, but I know that at one point, you'll have to make a shot, and everything depends on it, and you'll only get one shot at it…"

Assurrani put his arm around Ariel. "Thanks for the heads-up, but I haven't missed anything yet"

It was only when the groups were all about to go their separate ways when Camri met the Blade, Sartan, properly for the first time. He was stood idly just outside Bruma gates, his wild dreadlocked hair pulled back in a rough ponytail, wearing a thick fur coat which concealed plates of armour – a huge boon to an undercover agent. What Camri couldn't see was how many weapons Sartan had concealed around him – a sword hung in a sheath around his belt, but he also had a dagger tucked into his boot, and another, along with a miniature crossbow, holstered on his back, his coat disguising their shapes.

"I've heard a lot about you, Mr Everlight" Sartan said in a Hammerfell drawl. "I'm quite looking forward to accompanying you on one of your quests"

"Likewise" Camri replied. "I hear you got Radash all the way here through the Oblivion crisis…"

"Yeah, stayed away from the gates. It's quite simple really – you don't get in a fight, you don't run the risk of losing"

"That's a lesson that Camri's never going to learn" Ariel quipped. At that moment, King Jararka and Gajin, the two Argonians, approached their group. Jararka wore a backpack containing the pyramid-shaped Fourth Stone, as well as an ornate ceremonial spear – an ebony shaft tipped with a glass point – on his back.

"I wanted to speak to you, Camri, Ariel" King Jararka said. "It concerns Sudana – I'm sure you remember her"

"Of course we do!" Ariel said. Sudana was an Argonian scholar who had played a pivotal part in the saga of the Marsh Spirit, the event that had brought the two of them, and Falas Assurrani, together. Sudana had even orchestrated the breaking out of Camri from the Imperial Prison.

King Jararka looked at the two gravely. "I'm afraid that I discovered just before I returned that she had been corrupted by the Selective. The Fourth Stone had been an ornament in her study in the Palace for many years – like I said, we didn't know what it was for. But, it turns out, she did. The Fourth Stone could easily have been left gathering dust on a shelf whilst the Dragon Break ended the world – it was only merest chance that brought it here"

Neither of them spoke for some time, until Camri broke the silence.

"How long has she been Selective for?"

"I don't know. That's what worries me" King Jararka replied. "The fact that she worked with you two, the key players in stopping the Selective's plan, worries me. Remember, she helped bring you together with Falas so you could take on Mannimarco. She must have known the risks of the quest…"

"She was trying to get us killed!" Ariel gasped.

"Subterfuge" Camri said. "The best way to make someone important's death look like an accident…"

"Or twisted politics" Ariel added. "Like with Mankar Camoran, and Dagoth Ur…"

"The Selective have been at work at this for a very long time" Jararka intoned solemnly.

As the last goodbyes were made, Assurrani approached Camri and Ariel.

"I don't like being split up from you two," he said, seeming to genuinely mean it. "You both do a good job of keeping me alive"

"Well, I'm not happy about your bow not watching over me, but these are our orders" Camri replied. "Somebody needs to accompany Mavena to Falinesti, and I'm not sure what experience Lasatel has in ancient gemstones and fighting doomsday cults…"

"Ariel, anything I need to know?" Assurrani asked.

"I've seen a few things that you might encounter along your way" Ariel replied, handing a piece of paper scrawled with notes to Assurrani. "Mostly trap layouts in the cave itself – it seems someone has gone to a great extent to protect it"

"Damn, I have the traps and Camri gets to go to one of the greatest wonders of Tamriel instead?"

"Fine by my" Camri said. "I bloody hate booby traps. But sadly they're often a necessity…"

_Alinor, The Summerset Isle_

Camri, Ariel, Sartan and Radash were the first to arrive at their destination, owning to a specially-appointed ferry from Anvil to the coastal town of Alinor – a cutter known as the _Good Hope, _the fastest ship in the Imperial fleet. It was clear that, despite the ruling of Emperor Carius, Chancellor Ocato still harnessed a lot of power in the running of the Empire.

"So, what's the deal with this tower?" Sartan asked as the town, and the majestic Crystal Tower, came into view. It was an enormous cylindrical spire made from a translucent white crystal, sprouting from the ground, raising almost as high as White Gold Tower and looking truly out-of-place in what was in fact a perfectly ordinary harbour town.

"Nobody knows what it's for, or who built it, or if it was even built at all" Radash explained. "The interior of the tower is almost empty, save for a spiral staircase that leads up to a terrace on the roof of the tower, on which there is a crystalline plinth with a hemispherical void in its top, which has never had its purpose explained"

"Until now" Ariel added, the orb-shaped Fifth Stone nestled in her robes.

"There has been theories that it is in fact a natural formation," Radash continued. "Huge mineral deposits made from the same crystal have been found by Altmer miners, so it has been postulated that some freak bit of volcanic activity thrust it up above the surface. It's a somewhat sacred site to the Altmer people, and a town within a town has been built surrounding it. It's a complex made up of houses, Mages' Guild buildings, the local Legion garrison, all sorts, really…"

"Well, you can't say that this job doesn't show you some interesting sights" Sartan said. "More interesting than goddamn sewers any day…"

As the four disembarked the ship as it arrived in Alinor, a young Altmer man greeted them.

"Welcome to Alinor!" he called exuberantly. "It's always nice to see some travellers!"

Camri glanced at the others then approached the Altmer. "We're here to see Crystal Tower"

"Oh yes, the main attraction of our town. I'm afraid you can't see it… well, you can from afar, but…"

"What do you mean?"

"The gates have been barred for the last week. Don't know who it was, but nobody's gone in or out since then. It's like they've locked the whole place down"

Camri's heart sank. Radash stepped forwards.

"What's your name, squire?"

"Esikrid, Sir"

Radash handed ten Septims to Esikrid. "Take us as close to the gates as we can get"

The Orc had deduced Esikrid's purpose – he was a young man, probably studying with the Mages' Guild, looking to exploit the tourist industry for a bit of extra money.

The five stood before the gates that led into Crystal Tower. Nobody guarded them, but Camri tried them and found that they were locked and barricaded tight. The huge wood-and-iron gates looked impenetrable, nestled in a mighty stone wall whose battlements were dotted with guard towers.

"Just as I thought" Camri said angrily. "It's a bloody fortress. Always has been. The Selective have been at work in the Summerset Isle for longer than anywhere else – they've always known that someone would need to get in here. They know we've got the Fifth Stone. It wouldn't surprise me if there's been another hit on Elenglynn after their first one failed"

"What are we going to do?" Sartan asked. "Sneak in?"

Camri turned to Ariel, who was gazing at the walls of the fortification.

"What's it like behind there?"

"There's quite a few of them around, no concentrated groups…"

Camri then turned back to Sartan. "We're not going to sneak in, Sartan. We're going in the last way they'd expect – over the wall"

Taking a rope with an iron grappling hook on one end off his back – something that Camri had decided to bring him, expecting climbing to be involved to reach the top of Crystal Tower at some point – and cast it high up at the wall. He didn't quite throw the hook hard enough and it began to unceremoniously fall back down to the ground, but Ariel caught it with telekinesis, lifting it back up and hooking it over the battlements.

"Esikrid, you don't have to come with us," Camri said to the young Altmer, still standing with them. "We have to get to the top of the tower, regardless of what's in the way"

"In that case I wish you the best of luck," Esikrid said. "I'll look out for you when you're at the top"

Suddenly, a black-robed Altmer appeared at the top of the battlements, Camri's grappling hook in his hand, but as quick as a flash Sartan had drawn his bow and taken out the Altmer with a brilliantly-aimed shot, letting the hook fall back down to its resting place.

"I'll go up first," Camri said. "I'll secure it up there. Ariel, you follow me, then Radash. Sartan, you're on rear guard"

"Right" Sartan said, taking another arrow from his quiver in anticipation.

And then, Camri placed his hands on the rope and began to climb up it, preparing his daring attack – four people, only two of whom could hold their own in a fight, taking on however many men the Selective had garrisoned in the grounds of Crystal Tower.


	12. Crystal Like Law

Camri Everlight clambered over the top of the battlements just as another black-robed Altmer darted out of a guard tower. Camri didn't miss a beat – he leapt to one side as a bolt of lightning shot past him, drew his sword and charged at the Altmer. As he ran, he executed an impressively high leap allowing another bolt of lightning to pass harmlessly underneath him, and then rammed his sword straight through the Altmer's heart. Hearing footsteps behind him, he wheeled around – from another guard tower, about a hundred yards away, another Altmer, this time wearing Elven armour, was emerging.

"Come on!" Camri shouted down over the wall. "I could use a hand up here!"

Sartan fired his bow, winging the other Altmer, and Camri used the distraction to draw his own bow and deliver a killing shot to the Altmer's chest. Then, he crouched behind the battlements and scanned the inside of the Crystal Tower grounds, hearing the rope rubbing against stone behind him as Ariel climbed it.

The Tower grounds were similar to Green Emperor Way – the huge, alien-looking crystal spire stood in the exact centre of an eight-pointed star of wide gravel footpaths. Between the paths was an assortment of open ground and small stone buildings, crafted ornately from a white stone, with turrets sprouting up in their roofs. An Altmer equipped with a bow ran out from one of the buildings, spotting Camri and firing almost immediately. Camri crouched back behind the battlements as the arrow, well-aimed, shot through the gap he had been looking through… straight into the rope which Ariel was climbing up…

"It always happens to me…" Camri said to himself as he tumbled backwards and grabbed the rope with both hands, halting it just before it fell from the battlements. Once Ariel had finished her climb and joined Camri on the battlements, he bound the two cut pieces of rope back together again, once again anchoring it using the grappling hook, and ordered Radash up.

"Nice of you to join me" Camri said to Ariel. "If anyone fires at us, stop their arrows. I'll be back in a minute"

"Camri, don't…" Ariel began. Camri placed his hands on Ariel's shoulders.

"I'm just going into that guard tower to look for another rope so we can get down on the other side. Don't worry"

As the rope once again went taut as Radash began to climb it, Ariel looked out over Crystal Tower. The Altmer marksman was still stood on one of the footpaths. He fired again, but after ten yards or so of flight, his arrow's path was bent by telekinesis and it thudded harmlessly into the grounds' sturdy wooden door. Annoyed, the Altmer threw his bow to the ground and hurled a fireball up at the battlements – it hit the stone wall the other side from where Ariel was crouched with a resounding boom.

Radash managed to climb the rope quickly and he had barely set foot on the battlements when Sartan began to climb it.

Then, another Altmer guard appeared from one of the guard towers.

"Shit…" Radash said to himself. He and Ariel were alone on the battlements, being rocked as another fireball crashed into them, taking about a substantial chunk of masonry. Camri had disappeared into the other guard tower. They were sitting ducks…

"Give me your lockpick" Ariel said to Radash suddenly.

"What?"

"I know you've got one. All mages carry them – for getting into Guildhall display cases! Just give it to me!"

Radash sighed and handed Ariel a lockpick from one of the pockets in his fur coat. Ariel threw it weakly at the Altmer on the battlements but then used telekinesis to commandeer its flight, propelling the lockpick at huge speed straight into the Altmer's throat, piercing his jugular vein. The Altmer fell to the ground, trying to scream in pain, as blood poured from his throat…

_Crash!_

One of the raised sections of battlement was blasted apart as another fireball struck it. Several more mages had joined the man on the ground, trying to repel the attack on the battlements.

As licks of flame began to appear at the hands of one of the spellcasters, Radash and Ariel prepared to flee, but then he was hurled backwards as an arrow struck him in the chest.

Camri. Firing from the top of one of the guard towers. Immediately, he reloaded and fired again, managing to hit one of the spellcasters in the leg. Then, as Sartan finally made it onto the battlements, Camri disappeared back into the guard tower, clutching something in his hand.

"Sorry 'bout the delay, folks" Sartan said as he stood up and drew his bow, firing a snapshot at the spellcasters – it didn't hit any of them, but disrupted whatever attack they may have been planning. Then, Camri reappeared on the battlements.

"Doors out of the guard towers are barricaded," he said. "I tried them whilst I was in there. We're going to have to go over"

Only then did the other three see what Camri was holding – a length of rope with a grappling hook over one end coiled over one shoulder, and a crossbow in each hand. Anchoring the grappling hook on the battlements, he turned to Sartan and Ariel. "Any cover you could provide would be nice. Then, just follow me down"

"You're mad" Sartan said.

"I know" Camri replied, climbing over the battlements as Sartan fired off another shot, taking down a spellcaster.

Camri slid one-handed down the rope, firing one of the crossbows as he went at a plucky Altmer who had made a run for the rope. The bolt pierced straight through the Altmer's forehead and killed him instantly. As he continued his slide, he dropped the crossbow, pulled the other one off his back and fired that too, aiming high – his shot gracefully arced through the air and hit the final spellcaster, the first Altmer who had appeared, still bearing a quiver full of arrows on his back. Then, he dropped the second crossbow and drew his longbow, scanning around for any more threats. The whole complex seemed to be deserted…

_Cloud Ruler Temple, the same time_

Chancellor Ocato reached the bottom steps of the Temple's great stairway, wrapped in a fur coat to keep out the chilling Jerall winds. Just before he stepped out of the gate, Elroy, a Redguard Blade, appeared seemingly from nowhere.

"Can I ask where you're going, Chancellor?"

"Just down into Bruma" Chancellor Ocato replied. "Cabin fever. I've been stuck up here for weeks. I thought I'd see if the Mages' Guild had anything worth reading…"

Elroy stepped in front of Ocato, blocking him, the hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I can't let you out, I'm afraid. Grandmaster's orders"

"Jauffre said that?" Ocato spat. "I can guess what this is about!"

Angrily, Chancellor Ocato turned around to see Jauffre stood before him.

"I'm afraid so, Chancellor. Like you say, you understand the reasons we cannot let you out of our sight. You are Elven, and in a position of power…"

"Ridiculous! And what of all the Elves you recruit here at the Temple? What of Falas Assurrani?"

"Falas has proven his worth and loyalty to us" Jauffre replied. "You, I'm afraid, have not. And the Blades serve the Emperor, not the Empire. It's not easy for me to say, but we have no obligation to you, Chancellor"

Chancellor Ocato said nothing for a few seconds, then sighed. "Then I'll be in the library. The Seventh Tower's not going to find itself"

In Alinor, Camri and Ariel had gone on ahead to the tower. Radash and Sartan had stayed on the ground – Sartan, fearing an ambush, thought it best that the group were not all in one place, especially if that place was at the top of Crystal Tower. It also gave Sartan the chance to scope out any potential exit routes – already, he had found two disguised entrances to a network of tunnels that seemed to run beneath the complex.

"Radash, can I ask you something?" Sartan asked as the pair watched Camri and Ariel approaching the tower. "We're deep in Selective territory here – what's to stop them, y'know, going up there and taking the Stone away again once we've placed it?"

Radash quoted from an ancient inscription. "'And in the times of greatest need, when the Stones of Auri-El are brought home, may they become at one with the Spires of Lorkhan"' – inscribed on the wall of Galerion's tomb. He was the founder of the Mages' Guild, and formerly of the Psijic Order. Probably something of an expert when it came to matters like this – Auri-El, is of course, the Elven idea of Akatosh, the Time God. The Stones of Auri-El must be the same as the Stones of Ada-Mantia, and by the same reasoning the Spires of Lorkhan are the towers – remember what I said about time and space being one and the same? So, what I think it means is that the Stones somehow fuse with their counterpart Towers when placed back atop them, creating a Stone-Tower unity, the ultimate anchor of space and time. And the phrase 'in the times of greatest need' leads me to believe that this can only happen when a Dragon Break is coming. The Stones and Towers can sense it somehow"

Sartan just stared ahead in silence, trying to comprehend everything Radash had said to him. He remembered thinking, when he was sent to Orsinium, that he had been placed on a simple bodyguarding task. Now he found himself in an enormous plot involving ancient stones, doomsday cults and the end of the world…

Given the grandness of the tower, its doorway was rather benign – a simple archway cut into the crystal without the merest hint of decoration.

"To see beauty in simplicity is the sign of genius" Ariel mused out loud as the pair walked through the arch into a similarly Spartan interior – the huge, cylindrical spire of Crystal Tower was hollow on the inside, a wrought-iron staircase spiralling around its edge, leading up to a void in the tower's roof that allowed access to whatever lay on top of it. The roof itself was simply a structure made from wooden planks that plugged the hollow tube, supported by more wrought-iron buttresses.

"Keep an eye open, Ariel" Camri said. "Remember what the Selective did in Ninendava? They could have killed us straight away, but they waited for us to lower our guard"

"I'm all eyes" Ariel replied, casting a life-detection spell on herself. Not wanting to waste any time, Camri hustled up the spiral staircase, Ariel following close behind him.

Halfway up, it happened.

A bolt of lightning blasted into the staircase, conducting through its entire body. Camri jumped up in the air to break his contact with the ground, and Ariel cast a resisting spell on herself, the spell coming into effect a split-second before the current surged past her.

"Damnit! Go on ahead!" Camri shouted, drawing his bow. He quickly located the spellcaster on the ground floor of the tower and fired – the spellcaster didn't react quickly enough and, looking up to prepare to cast another spell, he was hit right between the eyes by Camri's arrow. Only then did Camri see the trapdoor that had opened in the tower's floor, leading down into a tunnel-like passageway…

Another wrought-iron set of steps led out of the tunnel. Altmer wearing a mix of armour and black robes began to quickly ascend them – around ten Selective men soon appeared in the ground floor of the tower. A couple took pot-shots at Camri and Ariel with spells and bows, but most of them began spreading a red, oily substance on the ground…

Camri realised immediately that it was naphtha. The Selective were going to torch the whole Tower!

As three Selective members mounted the stairs and began to race up them after Camri, he took off after Ariel, firing pot-shots from his bow as he did so.

"Come on, Sartan, where are you?" Camri said to himself as he caught up with Ariel. The Selective had stopped firing magic at the stairs after two of their men had got onto it, so he at least managed to get to the top of the tower unhindered.

"What's happening?" Ariel asked as Camri joined her on the squat wooden roof of Crystal Tower.

"In tomb-raider's terms, they've just turned this whole place into a massive time-and-speed trap…"

No sooner had Camri finished speaking when an ominous _Whump! _signalled the naphtha spread around the base of Crystal Tower being ignited. Bearing a look down, Camri saw that the entire ground floor of the tower had been turned into a blazing inferno.

_I'll worry about that later, _he thought to himself, locating a crystalline plinth in the centre of the roof, made from the same translucent white material as the Tower itself. It was a squat pedestal, a few feet high with a hemispherical void in its centre.

"That's it, Ariel!" Camri called as Ariel ran over, taking the beautiful crystalline orb of the Fifth Stone out of her robe and holding it above the void…

Ariel Lasaille placed the crystal in the void, a snug fit, just as the three Selective men reached the top of the stairs and ran out onto the rooftop.

A flash of light emanated from the Fifth Stone as it seemed to weld itself into the plinth, becoming part of the altar, turning its cuboidal form into one with a crystalline dome on its top surface. The Fifth Stone had been returned.

"Too late" Camri said wryly to the three Selective men. "And you're trapped"

One of the Selective men drew a sword and lunged at Camri, whilst the other two unleashed spells – one fireball and one lightning bolt. In a stunning piece of co-ordination, Camri used his shield to deflect the fireball high up into the air and his sword to block the attack of the Selective swordsman. But then, he watched in dread as the other lightning bolt blasted into Ariel.

Quick-thinking as always, she had cast a resistive spell on herself just before the bolt hit her, but it was the physical force of the attack that overcame her, knocking her clean off the edge of Crystal Tower, doomed to die some two hundred feet below.

Camri let out a primal bellow as he burst past the other two Selective men, dropping his shield and swinging his sword horizontally, two-handed, as hard as he could and decapitating the Altmer who had killed Ariel, kicking his limp, headless body off the side of the tower, then picking up the severed head of the Altmer and hurling it as hard as he could at the other Altmer spellcaster – the gruesome projectile hit the Altmer in the forehead so hard that it knocked him out cold. Then, Camri blocked and parried two swordstrokes from the Selective swordsman before ramming his sword straight through the Altmer's heart. When angered by the death of one of his friends, Camri Everlight was unstoppable.

Camri did not look over the edge of the tower to see Ariel's fate. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He had to concentrate. He had to somehow get out of the burning Crystal Tower.

Running down onto the stairwell, he encountered two more Selective Altmer, but they had run up onto the stairs in a panic when the fire had started, trapped and trying to flee the flame. Camri ploughed into them with his sword brandished in front of him – he slit the throat of the first, knocking them back into the second, who fell awkwardly, his neck snapping as he landed on the edge of one of the iron steps.

Desperately, Camri looked for a means of escape. Choking smoke from the naphtha fire was beginning to fill Crystal Tower, with only the small void in the roof allowing it to escape, but still he could see that the entire floor was ablaze…

No, not all of it. The trapdoor that the Selective had entered through was still open, and beneath it he could see the flames reflecting off a rippling surface…

Camri bounded down the stairs. They were rapidly becoming heated by the flames, which developed from warmth through to an uncomfortable heat before it penetrated through the soles of Camri's hiking boots and became unbearable. He leapt off the stairs, straight through the trapdoor, hoping to the Gods that the water was deep enough to break his fall.

It was. Camri plunged beneath the surface of the subterranean waterway then kicked his way to the surface, hauling himself out onto a stone walkway then collapsing with exhaustion.


	13. The Wayward Daughter

"Camri?"

A distant voice echoed in Camri's mind.

"Hey, big guy, come on! We ain't got all day!"

The face that loomed over Camri when he opened his eyes was a familiar one. A Redguard. Sartan, his name could have been…

"Come back to your senses. What happened?"

Gradually, Camri came around and groggily stood to his feet. Sartan and Radash were both stood before him.

"Bastards came from everywhere. We found a tunnel that led down here but they can't be far behind us"

"And you scared the life out of us when we saw you plunging through that trapdoor," Radash added. "But… Did you do it? We saw the tower go up in flames…"

"No, we did it" Camri said, taking deep breaths, a look of exhaustion and agony spread across his face. "The Fifth Stone is in place. But… Ariel… she fell off the tower…"

"Fell where? She's right behind you, buddy," Sartan said.

Camri's heart skipped a beat as he turned around. There, stood above him, the other side of the trapdoor, standing _in _the blazing inferno in the base of Crystal Tower, was Ariel Lasaille, the light signature of a fire shield spell radiating from her. Grinning, she bounded down the steps and threw her arms around Camri.

"I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life!" Camri cried in elation.

"So, what, can you not die or something?" Sartan asked in amazement.

_A few minutes earlier_

Ariel Lasaille fell.

Fast.

As she saw her reflection in the translucent crystal of the tower's spire, she saw other things – her life.

She saw her parents. Her father a wealthy landowner in High Rock, her mother a Mages' Guild instructor on healing and restoration.

She saw her education – an inquisitive little girl, with countless days spent in the Guildhall, flinging fireballs at crude mannequins, conjuring otherworldly beasts, becoming fascinated with any form of written word on magic. And, of course, when she discovered her love of mysticism – the ability to shape and manipulate the very foundations of reality.

Soon, she could be found moving objects easily with her mind, catapulting them high into the air and halting their falls moments before they struck the ground. She took arrows from the Fighters' Guild's archery range, casting them at targets before using telekinesis to guide their flights into the bullseye. She never missed.

Then, there was her teenage years, the years of decadence. Fuelled by her father's money, her and the other young mages would travel to Daggerfall and Orsinium for orgies of drink and decadence lasting for days at a time. She imbibed liquors and skooma, coming close to destroying that precious mind but also being amazed by the new ways they made it work. How to think outside the box – the key skill for a true mystic. Soon, she was summoning magical resistances on the spot – resistance to cold as she went for drunken swims in rivers, resistances to harmful magic to curb the negative effects of alcohol. In a drunken brawl that two other mages got in, a fireball flew in her direction. Everybody held her breath in terror, but at the last second, a flash of multi-coloured light engulfed her and the fireball bounced harmly off her.

And there were her looks. It could not be denied that the sixteen-year-old Ariel Lasaille was a beautiful young lady. She remembered her first loves – dashing young mages from High Rock and brave, exotic men from neighbouring Hammerfell. Then there was the one she was not particularly proud of – a fling with a married Imperial man from the Legion garrison in Orsinium.

Then, one day, the visions started. As she slept off another hangover, she sensed something beyond a dream. A deep feeling of uneasiness and upset in the world. The next day, one of her best friends was killed, attacked by wolves in the wild whilst foraging for plants to use in alchemy. That night, Ariel dreamed again. But it was more focused. She woke knowing her mother was ill, but the silly woman would not listen to her.

"I feel fine, Ariel darling" her mother would say over and over again.

"You don't! You have to see a healer now!" Ariel begged, but she was ignored, her parents both thinking her to be suffering the after-effects of some hallucinogenic potion.

Two days later, Varie Lasaille died of an illness that no healer could cure.

The next day, a man from the Imperial Legion arrived at their home. Ariel's father told him to leave the premises or he'd slit his throat.

Then, the Dark Brotherhood came, trying to kidnap Ariel. It was only a daring attack on the assassins by Ariel's friends in the Mages' Guild that saved her from an uncertain fate.

From then on, Ariel's foresight seemed to be a secret that only the wrong people knew about. A bodyguard, a Nord named Horunn, was hired by her father to protect her from whoever might want to exploit her gift.

Then, as her life flash-forwarded back to the day she met Camri Everlight and Falas Assurrani, she was snapped back into the present day.

Another memory flashed through her mind, of a horrific dream she had once had. Another foresight. She knew that herself, Camri and Falas would not all make it through the quest unscathed. One of them was going to die.

Ariel knew that this was it, the moment she had seen in her dream. The one that was going to die was herself.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try and prove herself wrong.

The air whipped by her as she plummeted to the ground. She had seen others in situations like this – Camri Everlight falling from the base of the Throat of the World into the bottomless pit that lay below it. She had used a short but incredibly powerful telekinetic motion to stop his fall. But of course, one had to _see _an object to be able to manipulate it with telekinesis.

_It might work…_

Ariel concentrated on her reflection in the tower. Concentrated harder than she ever had in her life.

With a gut-wrenching jerk, Ariel stopped. For a fraction of a second, she hovered in mid-air, ten feet away from hitting the ground, then her spell expired and she dropped the short distance, just as the horribly decapitated body of a black-robed Altmer plummeted past her, splatting on the ground like a tomato. Ariel landed next to the macabre sight in a crumpled heap, bruised but alive.

"These waterways must drain the grounds," Camri said. "They must lead to the sea"

Peering at his compass, he saw that he might well have been right. The tunnel ran east-west, and Alinor was situated on the west coast of the Summerset Isle.

"Me and the Prof will scout ahead" Sartan said. "No point all of us running into an ambush…"

"Fine by me" Camri replied. "We'll watch your backs"

Sartan and Radash had already seen their share of violence whilst Camri and Ariel had entered the tower. Ambushed by a Selective group hidden in a small building, they had desperately made a dash for what luckily turned out to be an armoury – whist Radash battled with a locked trapdoor in the centre of the large room, Sartan had loaded himself up with a pair of glass shortswords and let them come. He threw the armoury door open, then leapt to one side, into the shadows.

The Selective saw the Orc and, instinctively, thought him to be like all Orcs – a powerhouse warrior. They made a beeline for him, which was precisely when Sartan leapt into their midst and, with the twin razor-sharp glass blades, committed nothing short of a massacre. Not expecting such aggression from the wiry Redguard, looking more like a Wildman or bandit in his thick fur coat, they were cut to ribbons before they had chance to resist.

"What now?" Radash asked, Sartan peering out of a window in the squat building.

"I don't like the look of that…"

The whole of Crystal Tower seemed to be ablaze. Through the translucent white crystal radiated a soft orange glow, vividly illuminating the entire tower, and smoke poured from a vent of some sort in its roof. And for a second, Sartan thought he saw a figure clamber out of the vent…

"We cover Camri and Ariel's exit" Sartan ordered. "I think it's gonna be a hot one…"

Sartan and Radash hustled down the tunnel. It was about ten feet wide, with the deep gully down its centre, carrying the underground waterway, taking up six of them, leaving the walkway along one side. Natural light permeated into the tunnel through numerous storm drains, but there was also a patch of light ahead of Sartan, sunlight flooding into the passageway…

"It's the light at the end of the tunnel" Radash observed. "Must be where the tunnel meets the sea, or at least a river…"

"Aw, hell…" Sartan drawled, stopping in his tracks. A group of Altmer filed out of a side passage, spotting Sartan and Radash immediately.

But Radash was distracted. He'd noticed something about one of the storm drain shafts… it was octagonal in section. The number eight again.

The Zero Tower, Ur Tower. The vessel in which Akatosh first arrived in the mortal plane, the ultimate symbol of the Eight Divines, before Talos joined them and made them nine.

White Gold Tower. Eight lesser towers around the edge of the Imperial City.

Numidium's burial chamber – it was one of eight inside the huge cavern.

And now, at Crystal Tower, eight paths leading out from its entrance, eight-sided architecture everywhere…

Which was the precise moment when a bolt of lightning blasted into Radash's chest, sending him flying backwards for a few feet and landing awkwardly on the ground.

Sartan had tried to fight off all of the Selective, blocking and dodging spells whilst laying into the mages with his sword. Some of them summoned weapons to block his attacks with, and he began to get forced back, which was when he saw the lightning bolt lance past him and strike Radash.

"Camri! Ariel! Goddamnit, get down here!" Sartan cried, parrying off another attack.

His call was answered. A stray fireball roared past Sartan down the hall, but a few seconds later it flew back, brilliantly deflected by Ariel, and engulfed one of the mages, who fell to the ground, screaming, trying to extinguish the flames that had consumed his robe.

But Camri was also in trouble. A second Selective group had emerged at the other end of the tunnel, forcing him and Ariel back towards Radash. They were surrounded. As Ariel ran on ahead, carrying a torch which illuminated the tunnel in a flickering amber glow, Camri backpedalled whilst firing his bow and reloading as quickly as he could – even the shots that missed were deflecting off the walls of the tunnel, veering dangerously close to the Selective mages. It kept them at bay, casting spells at him, which he dodged or deflected with his shield.

Sartan found himself trying to fight off the final two mages, armed with maces – he was being forced back towards the wounded Radash, hoping that Ariel would arrive soon and come up with one of her genius plans to save him.

As a Daedric mace struck his left arm, causing it to go limp with the horrible crack of a breaking bone, Sartan fell to the ground. But then, his prayers were answered. A loose brick, propelled by telekinesis, smacked into the maceman's forehead, causing his whole head to snap backwards at 90 degrees, killing him.

But she could not do anything about the other maceman. He dived on top of Sartan, leading with his mace, delivering a powerful blow to Sartan's head, knocking the life from him.

Relentlessly, the maceman stepped over Sartan's dead body, approaching Ariel and swinging the summoned mace. Desperately, Ariel ducked and headbutted the Altmer in the stomach as she did so, knocking the wind from him, buying herself a few seconds. Her next move was to dispel the Altmer's binding spell, causing the deadly mace in his hands to disappear. But the stern-faced Altmer, with a raven-black mane of hair making him look even more menacing, still stood several feet higher than her. Fighting hand-to-hand, she wouldn't have a chance.

Then, another moment of clarity hit her. The Altmer were hugely gifted mages, but with that came a vulnerability to the elements. Just like the torch she held in her left hand.

Ariel swung the torch wildly in front of her, its flame drawing a trail through the air, but the Altmer stepped back, avoiding it. Again, she swung, but the Altmer avoided the attack, taunting her as he did so.

"You honestly think you can defeat me, Ariel Lasaille? I've heard of you. You have to get others, like that Redguard, to fight for you. You couldn't fight your way out of a barrel!"

"Is that so?" Ariel asked, swinging the torch again. She could tell that the Altmer was deliberately not attacking him, taunting her. "Sometimes fighting isn't the answer. Sometimes cunning can get you out of trouble"

Diving to the ground, Ariel hurled the torch forward. The flame brushed against the Altmer's robe, igniting it. Desperately, the Altmer stumbled backwards, tripping over the dead body of one of his comrades who Sartan had killed earlier, and plunging into the deep waterway that ran down one side of the tunnel.

Ariel, still on the floor, reached down until her hand was just above the waterway. She cast a lightning spell – she only knew a weak, close-ranged one, but it didn't need to be strong. The electricity surged through the water, frying the Altmer alive – he convulsed wildly in the water as the current tore through him, leaving him floating face-down in the water, small plumes of steam rising from him.

Ariel got to her feet, rushing over to Radash. Camri was still further down the tunnel, parrying with two mace-carrying Selective members.

Radash was barely conscious, blood seeping from an ugly gash ripped across his torso by the lightning bolt that had hit him.

"Camri!" Ariel cried. Knowing that Camri was also an adept healer, hope might not be lost for Radash…

"Ariel… the number of paths… did you see…" Radash stuttered, still dazed, before a last surge of clarity came back to him. "The number eight, Ariel, it's central to everything… that's how you'll find the Seventh Tower…"

"Radash, the Seventh Tower. What else do you know about it?"

Radash was fading again. "The Islands of Orichalc… a Khajiit myth… and the Moon Sugar… it's something they do to it… it's the only way to find the tower…"

Radash gently closed his eyes for the last time. As he did, Camri ran over, his two Selective foes defeated. It had been a tough fight – he was covered in blood and singe marks from the battle, and ran with a slight limp. By the time Camri reached the scene, it was too late. Radash gra-Moran, the single greatest living repository of knowledge on the Stones of Ada-Mantia, was dead.

"Don't do this to me, Radash" Camri said desperately, falling to his side, but he knew it was no good. He stood up again.

"All this death…" Ariel said quietly, looking around her. "Do you ever wonder if all these people aren't evil at all? Maybe they're just trying to earn a living. Maybe they have families, and children…"

"Ariel, if they are fighting for the Selective they are not good people. They want to see the end of the world, and they are quite willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. But what you said is something I always wonder about. Only once have I felt satisfied when I killed someone, and it was that little shit that knocked you off the tower. But anyway, what are we going to do now? Without Radash? He's the only one who seemed to know anything about the Orichalc tower"

Ariel repeated Radash's dying words to Camri.

"The puzzle's coming together step by step," Camri said. "I just hope we solve it in time…"


	14. All Hallows Part II

_Skyrim Mountains, near the town of Whiterun_

Captain Larand Pasqual stood at the fork of two mountain rivers, gazing at the sight beyond him. The group were nearing the top of the dormant volcano known as The Throat Of The World – it was variously believed to be the highest mountain in Tamriel and, according to some myths and more outlandish theories, it existed in several dimensions and planes of time at once, so one could never truly reach the top of it. The mountain was also steeped in Nordic folklore – its name was thought to come from the Nordic belief that all life on Nirn emerged from the vent of the volcano. It was a cold, crisp day, without a cloud in the sky and a gentle mountain wind blowing.

The sixty-year-old Breton Battlemage Captain had led the expedition to the Fourth Tower, known as Snow-Throat or The Throat Of The World. It was a place he had been to before – he was on the expedition led by Camri, Ariel and Assurrani to recover the Mantella, which had lain in the Fourth Tower. It was his reason for being placed in charge of the expedition.

Next to him stood King Jararka of Argonia. The pair could not have looked more different – Jararka was visibly freezing in the cold northern climate, wrapped in a thick fur coat and trousers and a sturdy pair of leather boots – far from regal, but his ornate, glass-tipped ceremonial spear still hung on his back, next to a backpack containing the Fourth Stone. Captain Pasqual, with his long, flowing white hair and huge bushy beard, was kitted out in his prized suit of ebony armour, a blue hood pulled over his head. He also carried a very rare and treasured Daedric sword in a hilt. Behind him were six of his Battlemages, wearing similar blue hoods but otherwise decked in steel armour worn over warm clothes, and King Jararka's man, Gajin, wearing a tight-fitting black robe with various weapons holstered around it.

"The King of Argonia under my command" Captain Pasqual said. "I still can't quite believe it…"

"These are difficult days, Captain" Jararka replied. "There's no time to mess around with the formalities of hierarchy. And I'm sure you're much more adept at field leadership than I am"

"Hmm" Captain Pasqual said, looking ahead of him. He faced down a sheer-walled ravine, at least a hundred feet high, its entire base being taken up by the foaming, roaring mountain river that flowed out from some underground source at the far end of the ravine. This high up, the river looked out of place, and Pasqual wondered if there was some ancient pump hidden below the mountain, creating this river and adding an extra layer of defence to what lay beyond.

It was a crisp, clear day, and what was at the far end of the ravine was easily visible. They were atop a mountain also called the Throat of the World, a dormant volcano which was the highest peak in the whole of Tamriel. At the end of the ravine was a stone staircase which led up over the lip of the crater. That was the way to the Tower.

Pasqual then glanced around, spotting what he was looking for. He found an obsidian-black Varla stone, discarded in the frosted grass, left there by Ariel during the last expedition here.

Just like Ariel had done, Pasqual picked up the Varla stone and held it high above him. It was a specially-engineered example, blessed upon the party by Meridia herself, and acted as a polariser – it gathered the rays of the still-rising sun, glowing a bright blue for a few seconds, before a superthin bolt of lightning-like energy lanced down the ravine, hitting some distant trigger.

With a roar that drowned out that of the river, a stone walkway slowly rised from the waters, lifted by some ancient mechanism beneath the riverbed.

"Alright, Gajin, this is what you were brought here to do" Pasqual said, turning to the Argonian treasure-hunter.

Gajin nodded and took a deep breath, striding onto the walkway. He made quick progress along it, triggering and disarming traps. One trigger stone shot a crossbow bolt out of a recess in the ravine wall; another caused an entire section of the walkway to roll by 90 degrees, plunging any would-be victims into the water. Another trap went as far as catapulting an enormous boulder straight over the top of the walkway. But soon, the nimble Argonian had defeated the traps and beckoned the others across.

The Battlemages noticed it straight away. Pasqual knew it already. But it took Jararka and Gajin longer to realise.

They had all crossed the stone walkway and ascended the broad staircase into the crater.

Dusted in snow, a large stone structure stood in the centre of the crater, plugging the volcanic vent that once lay there. It was a circular citadel of some sort, with a huge radius but not particularly tall, only the height of a two-storey building. The worn, blackened condition of the stone betrayed just how old the structure was.

"It probably predates Nordic civilisation" one of the Battlemages said, ancient history being something of an interest to him. "It could have been proto-Nedic settlers"

"The crater" Jararka said in realisation. "It's the same size as Lake Rumare"

Pasqual nodded. "And the citadel is almost dead-on to the size of the Imperial City too. Which is why _I _personally think that the Ayleids built it, or that it's old enough that the Imperial City was built in its template"

"So it's the size of the Imperial City" Gajin said. "But where's the Tower?"

"I'll leave you to be surprised by that," Pasqual said knowingly.

Captain Pasqual continued leading the way – carefully picking his way down the icy slopes of the crater, crossing the open ground to the huge stone door that led into the citadel. Thankfully, since it had only been two weeks since he had been on the mission here to liberate the Mantella, nobody had moved in and the citadel and its surroundings seemed deserted.

The path through the citadel wound inwards in a slow spiral, circumnavigating the building. There were frequent traps, but again Gajin either disarmed them or showed how to pass them safely. Soon, they reached the centrepoint of the citadel.

"Green Emperor Way" King Jararka mused. The group all gazed out into the huge, open chamber in the middle of the structure – the Argonian King was right. The circular chamber was the exact radius of Green Emperor Way, and in the centre was its Tower. It hung from the roof of the citadel like an enormous stalactite, a pillar of white stone, immaculately carved flanks plunging down a large hole in the centre of the chamber into depths unknown.

The group approached the void in the centre, a circular hole leaving a gap of a few metres between the floor of the chamber and the tower. Looking down the hole, one could see a circling rampway that led down to a rope bridge, and beyond that, a truly remarkable sight. The citadel stood plugging the vent of the volcano, which now lay below the central chamber – a staggeringly enormous cylindrical cavern, plunging down into inky blackness. As far as anyone could tell, the pit was bottomless. At the other end of the rope bridge was a precarious walkway which spiralled down to a stone balcony a few hundred yards down the cavern's depth. But it was the tower itself that was the most remarkable sight of them all – it was an almost-perfect replica of White Gold Tower, but completely inverted, so that its 'base' was attached to the ceiling of the chamber above them, and the spire of the tower hung spectacularly over the bottomless pit, level with the stone balcony.

"There's your tower" Captain Pasqual said.

_Cloud Ruler Temple_

Chancellor Ocato read over a particular page of Radash gra-Moran's notes for the hundredth time, trying to make sense of the bizarre lines scribbled on it.

_I look up at the moon from the Second of the Islands of Orichalc. May nothing but happiness come through my door as I drink the nectar of the Lunar Lattice._

_(Numerous references to 'nectar of the Lunar Lattice' – moon sugar/skooma?)_

_Orichalc – mythical islands off High Rock coast but also too many references to Elsweyr – must be there. _

_Second of the Islands – Second Stone/Tower connection?_

'_Orich'/'Orc' connection in Khajiit language?_

Radash had clearly been working on the puzzle of the Seventh Tower, but did not seem to have made any progress. It made Ocato's heart sink, but other lines on the page just baffled him.

_When The Dragon Broke – 'Cyrodiil became an egg' - Egg of Time? Book details Heart of Lorkhan/First Stone_

_Dragon Break occurred when Numidium activated, and when HOL used by Tribunal, is there a fluctuation in time cocooning around each Tower?_

He was snapped back into reality by a familiar voice coming from the Great Hall.

"Grandmaster. I apologise that I have been so delayed in visiting you"

Ocato's heart skipped a beat. Emperor Namiah Carius was in the Great Hall of the Temple. Then, he heard Jauffre's voice.

"Late is the hour when you arrive, Emperor. We were beginning to get concerned by your silence"

"Silence is often the best measure during crises like these, Jauffre. Of course, nobody could ignore what happened with Mannimarco, or the Oblivion gates, but they do not need to know of the impending Dragon Break. If we succeed in stopping it, life goes on. If we don't, everyone will be dead before they've realised what's happened"

"A very optimistic view" Jauffre said dryly.

"Anyway, how is the quest proceeding? I see most of your team are absent…"

"We are spread across Tamriel at the moment, Your Majesty. I have three groups running separate expeditions to the Towers of the three Stones we possess, and I have co-operation from King Helseth in sourcing the crystal we need as part of the process to recreate the Chim-el Adabal. In addition to this, I have the Mages' Guild working around the clock on the same process, preparing the Imperial City to re-energise the crystal. As for Elsweyr, I have a man on the ground in Orcrest but that's all we've managed so far…"

"Well, it sounds like you are keeping on top of things. I hear there was something of a situation in Vivec too…"

"Yes, sadly whilst we have the co-operation of the Temple, it seems we do not have the co-operation of its military wing. We needed Mavena Aryon – we would not have been able to locate the Sixth Stone without her. So we fought fire with fire"

Emperor Carius nodded. "There's one other thing, I'm afraid, Grandmaster. I know that you are keeping Chancellor Ocato under house arrest. And, since you still serve me, I am overruling that decision"

"But, Sir, it's a matter of security…"

"Jauffre, the Elder Council does not run itself. I will not have my most senior and experienced senator locked up here in your temple during what could potentially be the biggest disaster to ever befall the Empire! Chancellor Ocato will be returning to the Imperial City with me"

Jauffre sighed. "I cannot argue, I suppose"

A few minutes later, Jauffre watched as Emperor Carius and his two Blades bodyguards, totally bemused by the whole event, left the Temple with Chancellor Ocato in tow. Just before they left, Chancellor Ocato looked Jauffre in the eye.

"When all this is over, Jauffre, we'll be having words"

"Don't worry" Emperor Carius said to Ocato, but in a way that Jauffre knew it was clearly meant for him. "The Blades hold less and less power every day"

After they had left, Jauffre turned back to a map of Elsweyr he had pinned to the wall and whispered under his breath; "What a horse's arse"

_Port Telvanni, Morrowind_

Eldred Moravahn crouched behind the rock, his bow primed, still hiding in the shadows. He watched the two Dunmer assassins prowl through the cave – they were carrying razor-sharp glass blades, ready to cut down any survivors of their vicious attack. It had only been Eldred's years of disciplined stealth and survival training that had kept him alive – he had always stayed one step ahead of the assassins, first launching a one-man guerrilla war against the force that had stormed the cave. It had been a tough fight – his five-man team of Buoyant Armigers had fought well but had eventually fallen to the superior numbers of their enemy. Then, as the two remaining assassins had begun to sweep the cave, coldly executing anyone left alive, he had gone into hiding. He had few weapons to his name – a single arrow for his bow, his trusty ebony shortsword and the small pickaxe he had used to chip off the ingots of red crystal that he carried. Now, all he had to do was get out alive and take the crystal to Cyrodiil…

A veteran of the quest that had brought together Camri Everlight, Ariel Lasaille and Falas Assurrani, Eldred Moravahn was delighted to have been recruited onto this huge quest. He was a Buoyant Armiger, a member of the wing of the Dunmer Temple who were servants of Vivec – the Armigers were all extremely skilled warriors but also good-natured and enthusiastic treasure-hunters, often launching expeditions into remote and dangerous parts of Morrowind to recover lost Temple relics. Eldred liked to refer to the Armigers as "treasure hunters in armour".

Eldred decided to make his move. He had one shot with the bow, and decided to concentrate on the assassin wearing steel armour, leaving only his head exposed.

As Eldred released the drawstring, the arrow whipped across the cavern. It was immaculately aimed and struck the assassin in the temple, killing him before he had time to react. As the other assassin spun to look for the source of the attack, Eldred was already on the move – he leapt over the rocky outcrop he was sheltering behind, running towards the assassin. The Dunmer raised his own bow but Eldred was much quicker on the draw – he threw his miner's pick overarm and it thudded into the assassin's chest. Only then did Eldred loudly exhale the breath he had been holding. At last, silence fell over the cave.

But it was short-lived. A series of filed bootfalls began to echo through the cave's passages, getting louder and louder. A sloshing sound joined them, followed by the occasional boom of a powerful fireball, and sounds similar to glass smashing under a huge impact. At once, Eldred realised what was going on.

It was due to the cave's unique feature – it was packed full of clusters of an unusual crystal, like the Welkynd glass found in Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil but a vivid crimson colour. It was the only place in the whole of Tamriel where this particular crystal was known to grow, and Eldred had learned from Archcanon Saryoni that it was the crystal that the Amulet of Kings had been forged from. And now, a group – probably related to the assassins who attacked him and his Armigers – was sweeping the cave, destroying every single one of the crystal formations.

Archcanon Saryoni's words echoed through Eldred's mind.

"_Orders from King Helseth. He says that this crystal will save the world"_

He had to get out alive.

Eldred thought of where they were – the cave entrance had been on the largely uninhabited eastern shore of the island that Port Telvanni was located on. The shore was known to be a favourite hiding place for smugglers, who could hide from the authorities in the maze of caves that ran through it.

_There must be another way out of the cave, _Eldred thought. He began to sprint through the cave system, putting distance between himself and his attackers. Only once the sound of their act of destruction was barely audible did he ignite a magical light. He could hear something else, though faint, from somewhere in front of him – the sound of water lapping against stone.

Following the source of the sound, Eldred found a small flooded cavern. The first thing he noticed was that the water that filled the cave ebbed and swelled rhythmically. Eldred dived into the pool without a second thought – he wore a ring which gave him the ability to breathe underwater – and peered around through the murky water. He could taste salt on his lips – he was almost there – but he could hear the footfalls behind him getting louder. They were catching up.

Finally, Eldred spotted a wide tunnel beneath the surface and swam through it. He emerged in a large pool…

…only to find several Dunmer smugglers all training longbows at him!

Eldred raised his hands above his head, kicking with his legs to stay afloat.

"You lot will want to get out of here," Eldred said calmly. "I've got some seriously bad guys following me"

"Get out" one of the pirates called, pointing to a wooden ladder that led out of the water to a crude jetty, on which a rowing boat was moored. Eldred obliged. Another pirate approached Eldred and began to search him, taking his bow, empty quiver and sword from him. Only then did he find the five ingots of blood-red crystal in a small pouch on his belt.

"These look valuable, don't they?" the pirate snarled.

"Well, they are" Eldred said, pointing to the rowing boat. "And if you let me keep one of them, and give me a ride to the port, you can have the rest. And the sword and bow"

The pirate looked to his leader for an answer. The other Dunmer shrugged.

"Sounds like a good deal to me"

As the dinghy passed close to the port, Eldred Moravahn beheld the scene of chaos in Port Telvanni. On the streets, the beach and the harbour wall, a skirmish was taking place – guards, Telvanni kinsmen and townsfolk on one side and a group of Elven mercenaries on the other. Dead bodies littered the ground by the score.

Eldred turned to the smuggler who was rowing the small boat.

"I don't like the look of that"


	15. On Top Of The World

_The Throat Of The World, Citadel_

"The Towers are central to everything, remember" King Jararka said. "I have no doubt that the Selective will be prepared. They know about this place"

"How so?" a Nord Battlemage asked.

"Last time I was here it was to recover the Mantella," Captain Pasqual explained. "It had been placed where the Fourth Stone should be, possibly as a ruse, and Mannimarco was drawing power from it. We later found out that Mannimarco was with the Selective. Our original plan was to destroy the Mantella – it was only through some divine aid that we learned how important it was. We got ambushed by necromancers last time we were here, who were probably in fact Selective members…"

"Thanks for the encouragement" Gajin said sourly. "What's the plan?"

"We can't let ourselves get bunched up" Pasqual said. "Gajin, Ecrador, you two come with us and guard the bridge from the other end. The rest of you, stay up here"

"So it falls to us to have the honour," King Jararka said.

"Indeed. It's your Stone, after all…"

As the remaining five Battlemages stood guard in the large empty room, Pasqual and King Jararka made their way out across the precarious rope bridge, the enormous abyss and the spectacular inverted tower looming below them. They were closely followed by Gajin and Ecrador, a Bosmer Battlemage, who stopped at the far end of the bridge as King Jararka and Pasqual continued down the winding stone path.

After what seemed like an age of carefully picking their way down the narrow path, they reached the stone balcony that stood level with the inverted peak of the tower. Captain Pasqual noted the cone-like capstone that topped the tower off. "When we were down here last, the spire of the tower fell off, down into the abyss. I'd say we've just seen a Dragon Break in action"

Jararka nodded. "Nice to know that Akatosh is on our side"

"Now, if I remember…" Pasqual said to himself, scanning the ground until he found a small recessed square. He thrust his hand into the hole and hit a trigger stone. A few seconds later, an almighty rumble and clatter filled the huge cavern as a narrow stone walkway folded up from a cleft in the rock beneath the balcony, giving access to the spire of the tower when it juddered into place…

"_Captain! We've got company up here!"_

A Nordic voice boomed down from the chamber above. It belonged to Horrus Storm-Caller, one of the Battlemages.

"Hold them off! We won't be long!" Captain Pasqual shouted back.

King Jararka then took the Fourth Stone from his backpack. The smoky crystalline pyramid may not have held the sheer beauty of some of the other Stones, but it still radiated with divine power. Then, Jararka ran as fast as he could across the walkway to the spire. He only had as long as Pasqual's Battlemages could hold the line before he became a sitting duck to arrows or ranged magic.

"Captain!" Jararka called back. "Where does it go?"

"It tops off the spire!" Pasqual shouted. "Use the handrungs!"

It was the tensest moment of Captain Pasqual's life. He heard the clattering of swords and the roar of destructive magic coming from upstairs. He wanted to go and help his men, but he had to be there in case King Jararka failed.

Horrus Storm-Caller cast off a bolt of lightning as he ran for the lip of the rampway leading down into the abyss – it was the only source of cover in the entire huge room. His attack hit a Nord mercenary who rounded the corner that marked the end of the spiralling corridor that led through the citadel, killing the man, but Horrus knew that the mercenary was just a footsoldier, sent in to draw fire and scope out the defences. Worse was yet to come. Next to him, Mevellius, an Imperial archer, fired with a summoned longbow, winging the next target that appeared. A summoned Dremora, also equipped with a bow. The Dremora knelt down and returned fire, forcing Mevellius to have to beat a hasty retreat and dive down over the lip and onto the rampway as the arrow clattered off the flanks of the huge tower behind him.

"Let 'em have it, boys!" Horrus ordered, casting off another bolt of lightning, putting end to the summoned marksman. "I don't want us to get pinned down! Not yet, anyway!"

All five Battlemages let loose with what they had – ranged spells and arrows, as the full extent of the invading group spilled into the chamber. It was a mix of Nord mercenaries, probably recruited from the taverns of Whiterun, Altmer mages and Dunmer and Bosmer warriors in cold-weather gear and summoned Daedra. Horrus shouted orders at his men, co-ordinating a volley of magic.

"Frost Atronach! Hit it with fire! Mevellius, take down that damned mage… No, left! Left!"

One of his men, a Dunmer, was hit by an arrow square between the eyes and was thrown back down onto the rampway, dead, just as Mevellius was hit in the chest by a fireball. His steel chestplate deflected much of the heat but the force of the attack carried him tumbling down next to his dead comrade.

"Hell… Gajin! I could use a hand up here!" Horrus cried.

This was bad news. He now only had two men left on the front line as he raced to help Mevellius. The Breton Nathiel and the Dunmer Andrano stood back-to-back, hurling everything they had at the approaching force. Daedra and men fell alike, the two Battlemages skilfully dodging spells that were flung at them, but soon the Selective managed to make headway. Eventually, Andrano had to draw his sword to cut down a mace-wielding Dremora who had got too close for comfort. Then, as quick as a flash, he cast off a fireball which smothered an Altmer mage, burning him to a horrific death in a few seconds – a summoned Dremora mage, and a Scamp that the summon itself had conjured, who were both homing in on Nathiel, both vanished in twin flashes of light.

"Thanks!" Nathiel called.

"No problem" Andrano called back, sinking his sword into a Nord mercenary. But, as the Nord fell, its place was taken by a fearsome-looking Altmer man, clad in conjured armour and carrying an ebony mace that glowed blood-red with enchantment…

But before the Altmer could attack, his head snapped back at a horrific right-angle as it was struck by an arrow. Gajin, peering over the edge of the rampway, had made the shot.

Meanwhile, Nathiel was engaged in a war of his own – he parried with his Legion-issue steel sword and a summoned shield as a Dremora and a Bosmer both hacked at him with axes – the time for effective ranged attacks was long gone. This was old-fashioned melee fighting now. He managed to take down the Bosmer with a vicious swordstroke to the throat, but he had left himself exposed to his other opponent for too long, and the Dremora thudded his axe into the back of Nathiel's head.

Horrus rejoined the battle just in time to see this, and blasted the Dremora back into Oblivion with a bolt of lightning. Immediately, it was replaced by a Dunmer warrior, equipped with an enchanted shortsword…

On the rampway, Gajin leapt down and helped the now-healed Mevellius to his feet.

"Help me hit 'em hard!" Gajin said as he handed Mevellius his bow, which had fallen to the ground. Mevellius nodded and fired off a shot over the wall, hitting the Dunmer who Horrus was fighting in the arm, causing him to drop his weapon – it was the opportunity Horrus needed to run his sword through him. But they were still being overwhelmed.

"Fall back!" Horrus shouted. "We'll choke them on the bridge! Cover us!"

Horrus glanced to Nathiel just in time to see him being run through by a Dremora sword. More out of anger than anything else, Horrus cast twin lightning bolts, one from each hand, engulfing the Dremora in cyan voltage and frying it alive. An arrow from Gajin flew past his face, hitting an approaching Scamp.

"Go!" Gajin shouted. Horrun nodded and ran for the wall leading down to the rampway, but he knew that running would leave him exposed. He had ten yards to make.

He had made three when another arrow whipped past him, taking down one of the Altmer mages.

He had made another four when he was struck behind by a fireball. He was thrown forwards, landing clumsily on his belly, hurt and in a daze.

"Come on!" Mevellius shouted, jumping out of cover to help his comrade.

"No…" Gajin began, but it was too late. As soon as Mevellius stood up on the floor of the chamber, he was hit in the throat by a Dunmer marksman. Gajin quickly neutralised the archer then dived back into cover, watching in horror as an Altmer coldly executed Horrun with a summoned dagger. Out of the Battlemages, only Pasqual and Ecrador remained. Gajin quickly took stock of the Selective's manpower – two mages, a Bosmer marksman and a smattering of Daedra. All of the Nord mercenaries had been killed in the vicious battle. Desperately, Gajin fled across the rope bridge.

"Gajin!" King Jararka called from the bridge between the balcony and the tower. "There's another way out! Cut the bridge if you have to!"

Gajin nodded and readied his bow. He didn't want it to have to come to that…

King Jararka had reached the spire of the tower just as Gajin had appeared on the rope bridge, the aftermath of the battle above following him down.

The bridge ended in a fork, both branches joining the flank of the tower, leaving a two-foot gap between the two. Through this gap, eight precarious handrungs led down to the tip of the spire, where the Fourth Stone had to be placed.

"_You can do it, Your Majesty!" _he heard Pasqual calling from the balcony. _"Don't worry about the Selective! We can handle them!"_

King Jararka took a deep breath and placed the Stone loose in his backpack. Trying not to look down into the bottomless abyss, he clambered through the void between the two forks of the bridge and out onto the handrungs – before long, he was hanging by his fingertips over the huge hole that, as far as anyone knew, led to the very centre of Nirn.

At that moment, everything happened at once.

A Frost Atronach boomed onto the rope bridge. At once, Gajin realised that the creature had been summoned and sent ahead, its sheer bulk blocking any arrow-fire at what stood behind it on the bridge. The Bosmer marksman, taking pot-shots at the helpless King Jararka.

A fireball from Pasqual roared up, causing the Bosmer to have to momentarily duck, but it was returned with a spell from one of the Altmer mages that Pasqual didn't dodge quickly enough – it engulfed him in a sickly green light and silenced him. Desperately, Pasqual pulled out his sword and bolted up the path to the rope bridge.

Ecrador fired one arrow at the Frost Atronach. Gajin didn't expect the attack to do much, but the magic arrow collided with the creature in a spectacular burst of fire, blasting it to pieces.

"I have to get me some of those!" Gajin said in awe. The Atronach out of the way, the two Altmer mages raced forwards across the bridge. Gajin drew a dagger. As Ecrador lined up for another shot, he was blasted by a fireball from one of the Altmer, incinerating him to death in less than a second.

"Fuck…" Gajin said as he realised the severity of the situation. Every couple of seconds, he saw another arrow flying down towards the tower's spire. And now, with the distraction of Pasqual dealt with, the marksman could take aim. The Altmer mages were mere yards away from him.

Gajin sliced through one of the retaining ropes holding the bridge in place.

"Hang in there, Sir!" Gajin shouted. "I'm coming!"

Hanging on for dear life with one hand, King Jararka held forth the Fourth Stone in his other. Holding it by its peak, he held the flat end up towards the iron bracket at the tip of the tower's spire that clamped the stone in place.

The sound of a drawstring being released echoed across the cave. Then, with a metallic clink, King Jararka watched in horror as the Fourth Stone was knocked out of his hand and down into the abyss, the hopes of ever stopping the Dragon Break and the end of the world falling with it.

"No…" King Jararka gasped. But then, a blur of movement distracted him. The fall of the Fourth Stone was arrested in mid-flight.

Gajin. Hanging onto the rope bridge.

He had cut the second retaining rope then held on for dear life, spectacularly swinging out over the abyss, timing the swing perfectly to grab the Fourth Stone. As his swing continued, he tossed the stone up to King Jararka, who lost no time in jamming it into the bracket. Four claws clamped around the Fourth Stone, locking it in place, completing the pointed spire of the Fourth Tower.

King Jararka laughed in elation as he began to climb to safety. But then, he heard something that let him know they weren't out of trouble yet.

"_Gajin! The bridge!"_ Pasqual shouted from the balcony. Evidently his silencing spell had worn off.

Jararka looked up. In the corner of his eye, he could see the Bosmer marksman holding onto the other end of the rope bridge, a dagger in his hands and a look of murderous intent in his eyes. He was going to cut the bridge!

"Suicidal bastard…" Gajin swore to himself, seeing the same thing. The bridge, now swinging back towards the tower, lurched as the Bosmer cut through one of the two retaining ropes.

"Gajin! Jump!" Jararka shouted, holding his hand out as Gajin neared the tower. A brilliantly-aimed bolt of lightning lanced across the cavern, hitting the Bosmer and knocking him, screaming, from his perch. But it was not in time.

The Bosmer had cut through enough of the rope to weaken it, so that Gajin's weight caused the one remaining rope to snap.

The bridge plummeted down into the abyss.

Gajin leapt, reaching out for King Jararka's hands. He only fell short by an inch, but it might as well have been a hundred leagues.

As King Jararka clutched at thin air, he watched Gajin falling silently, dignified, into the abyss in a hellish slow motion, the smouldering body of the Bosmer falling beside him.

"Akatosh guide you, Gajin," King Jararka mouthed in silent respect. Slowly, he climbed back up to the walkway to witness the _other _fight that was taking place.

Pasqual versus the two Altmer mages. They had leapt off the falling bridge just in time and made it onto the pathway.

All three were experienced and powerful wizards and it was a brutal fight. Lightning and fire blasted across the abyss. Summoned creatures skirmished with each other. Every time one of the mages was hit, he would quickly heal himself and go straight back on the offensive.

Plainly something had to give. One of the Selective mages waited until Pasqual began to summon a creature, then let loose a spinning projectile, a magical purple cuboidal object which hit Pasqual and hurled him to the ground with tremendous force. Pasqual groaned through gritted teeth. His armour felt like it weighed the same as a building – it held him to the ground, pressing down on his chest. He could barely breathe. And then, just to make sure, he was silenced by a spell from one of the Altmer.

King Jararka was a sitting duck, crossing the walkway before a determined look from one of the mages halted him.

"Perhaps you know that once the Stones are in place, they cannot be removed!" one of the Altmer mages boomed. "Perhaps we did not stop you this time, but the satisfaction of killing the Captain of the Imperial Battlemages and the King of Black Marsh will surely console us"

"Stop gloating, you're just killing us out of spite" Jararka called back.

The Altmer shrugged. "You're right"

The two mages began to quickly walk down the walkway towards Pasqual. One stopped at the edge of the stone balcony, summoning a Daedric bow as quick as a flash and training it on Jararka. The Argonian, with no ranged attacks to his name, could only watch in horror as the other mage summoned a dagger, knelt down next to the helpless Pasqual and look over at Jararka.

"Now, let's see what a selfless compassionate ruler you really are. Throw yourself into the abyss and we will let Captain Pasqual live. For every five seconds you hesitate, he loses a finger"

"Don't do it…" Pasqual said, still trying to move against the crushing weight of his burdened armour.

"I won't" Jararka replied. "You can do better than that. If I do, what's to stop you killing him anyway?"

"Five seconds," the mage said coldly, chopping downwards with his dagger. Pasqual roared in pain as a small fountain of blood sprayed into the air.

"May your soul rot in Oblivion forever, you deranged bastard!" King Jararka shouted suddenly, a new air of aggression to his voice. He took his ceremonial spear off his back and hurled it like a javelin across the bridge, at the same time, pre-emptively ducking just as an arrow fired by the other Altmer whooshed over his head. The spear was exceptionally aimed and it plunged into the mage's chest, the glass tip piercing straight through his body. The mage keeled over, a look of shock and horror frozen on his face.

Then, Pasqual leapt into action. He reached for the nearest solid object – a fist-sized rock – and threw it at the other mage just as the burdening spell wore off. Fighting through the pain barrier, adrenaline gave him clarity. He could feel the silencing spell wearing off. He'd have to time this perfectly…

"Two can play at your game!" Pasqual called to the mage just as the silencing spell wore off, as magic bloomed from his hands and engulfed the rock. The momentum of the burdening spell itself, and the weight added to the rock by the spell, turned it into a lethal projectile. It hit the mage square in the solar plexus and sent him screaming, plummeting down into the abyss.

King Jararka raced to his aid as he collapsed, casting a healing spell on himself. The blood oozing from the stump where the middle finger on his left hand had once been stopped, the wound healing over instantaneously.

"By the Gods… are you alright, Captain?" King Jararka asked, falling to his side. Pasqual examined his mutilated hand.

"They cut my fucking finger off… Your leg!"

King Jararka glanced down. He had been winged in the thigh by an arrow from the Bosmer marksman, but in the heat of battle he had simply ignored the pain.

"We were close to defeat," King Jararka said solemnly as Captain Pasqual pushed the large square button recessed into the balcony once again, which he knew to open a hidden door in the wall of the tower. "Only two of us survived the Selective's attack, and ours was the largest of the three expeditions. I can only pray for the others…"


	16. Domesday

Eldred Moravahn approached Cloud Ruler Temple. Although he had never actually been to it before, he somehow felt at home – the Buoyant Armigers and the Blades often operated together in Morrowind, the Blades helping Armigers on deniable operations that the Temple could not publicly back, in return for information from deep in the Temple hierarchy.

But something didn't feel right. The huge wooden gates, reinforced with steel, were wide open, and Eldred knew that whenever the Temple's gates were open, two Blades _always _stood guard outside the gates, covered by archers concealed in the battlements running around the Temple's towering walls. But this time, the gate was abandoned, save for one figure. From his height, Eldred guessed him to be Altmer. He had a mane of black hair and wore a similarly-coloured robe. He was facing up the great stairway of the Temple, seeming to survey the scene.

Instinctively, Eldred knew that the Altmer didn't belong. He crouched behind a thick bush as he drew his bow, then took aim and fired, striking the Altmer in the back of the neck and killing him instantly. Then, Eldred sheathed his bow and bolted for the Temple.

Bodies were everywhere – some wore Blades armour, others were fur-clad Nord mercenaries interspersed with Elven wizards.

"Hello?" Eldred called.

There was no answer. He called again as he strode into the Great Hall. A huge pile of papers and books was burning in the centre of the hall, surrounded by more bodies. The conflict here had been spectacularly bloody.

"Anyone home?" Eldred called for a third time.

"Eldred?" a voice called from somewhere behind him. Eldred looked around, but saw no-one.

"Eldred Moravahn? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me" Eldred called into space. "Grandmaster Jauffre?"

A figure dropped down from the ceiling, where he had been totally concealed in the shadows, hiding in the rafters, and landed cat-like on all four limbs, holding a dented and blood-stained katana.

"What in Gods' name happened here, Grandmaster?" Eldred asked.

Jauffre shook his head, as though the situation was just dawning on him.

"I didn't think the Selective would be so bold as to launch a direct attack on the temple… They came from everywhere. Bruma, the caves, the mountains to the north, came over the back wall with siege ladders. There were just too damn many of them. I'm all that's left…"

"Chancellor Ocato?" Eldred asked worriedly.

"Went with the Emperor. Or more accurately, the Emperor came and took him. Oh, Eldred, this is far worse than I realised. The Selective – they're mobilising. Attacking on all fronts. Making their last stand…"

"They found me in Morrowind too. They destroyed the cave, firebombed all the crystals with fireballs and naphtha"

Dread fell across Jauffre's face.

"But an Armiger never fails his task" Eldred continued, taking out the one remaining ingot of red crystal he had kept from the pirates and tossing it to Jauffre.

Jauffre admired the stone, shaped like the spoke of a wheel – or the point of a star. "It's nice to have some good news for a change"

"What can we do now?" Eldred asked.

"We wait for the others to get back, then we go to Elsweyr," Jauffre replied. "There's nothing else we can do at the moment"

Meanwhile, in Elsweyr, a Khajiit named Za'hir was abruptly roused from his sleep by a loud crash. He leapt out of bed and grabbed his sword, lying on the ground next to him, and ran for the desk on the other side of the room. Lying on it were three objects – a large crystal of a salt-like substance, a bottle of a milky liquid and a map of the deserts of Elsweyr.

Two Dunmer assassins had kicked down his front door and were not being subtle in their attack – they raced straight for Za'hir, swords brandished.

But when they were ten paces away, Za'hir suddenly dropped his sword as a throwing star appeared in each hand. With subtle flicks of his wrists, he propelled the lethal projectiles straight into the throats of the two assassins.

"Try harder next time, Elves," Za'hir said to himself as he gathered up the objects on his desk. He would go to the Imperial Legion fort in Orcrest – his home was no longer safe.

_Valenwood, near Falinesti_

As chaos was unfolding throughout Tamriel, three people were isolated from it all, trekking through the jungles of Valenwood. Since leaving the town of Falinesti the previous morning, they had not seen another living person.

It was a truly spectacular place that the three found themselves in. Lasatel, navigating with a crude map drawn by Radash, led the group, with Falas Assurrani protecting the rear and constantly looking for threats, the pair of them protecting Mavena Aryon in the middle. Trees towered up hundreds of feet to a dense canopy, creating a permanent twilight on the jungle floor. Everywhere they looked was an incredible sight – huge clumps of bushes or mushrooms, or enormous flowering plants whose colours were so vivid they almost glowed.

Eventually, the three arrived at the edge of the jungle, overlooking a spectacular sight – a huge lake, filling up a hollow created by three mountains in a triangular formation. One of these, on the far side of the lake, had the characteristic sheer, smooth slopes and flat summit of a volcano, despite still being draped in a thick verdant blanket. The lake itself was totally clear apart from a few blooms of algae covering parts of the surface, and in the water, hundreds of fish, crabs and jellyfish could be seen moving through the water. It seemed there was no part of Valenwood where nature had not flourished.

"What do we do, then?" Lasatel asked, gazing over the spectacular vista.

"We need to cross the lake somehow," Mavena replied. "Our Tower is referred to as 'the crystal caverns' so if our reasoning is right we need to search that volcano for a cave entrance"

Lasatel looked around the edge of the lake. All around, it had no easily-accessible shoreline, just sheer muddy banks plummeting from about thirty feet into its depths.

"It will take days to circumnavigate the lake…" Lasatel said bleakly. "The going doesn't look very easy"

"What, you've never built a canoe before?" Assurrani said. "Where have you two ladies been living? Pass me your axe, Lasatel"

Soon, with the help of the other two, Assurrani had fashioned an outrigger canoe and two oars with the plentiful wood supply around the perimeter of the lake. Then, the three heaved it to the top of the steep bank that lined the lake, and then pushed it over the edge. The canoe slithered quickly down the muddy bank then plopped into the lake, thankfully landing the right way up.

"Time for a swim" Assurrani said, drawing his Elven shortsword. "I'll keep the slaughterfish at bay"

With that, Assurrani practically leapt out onto the bank and slid almost uncontrollably into the water – a few startled fish swam away as he plunged into the lake.

"Okay!" he called back up. Lasatel came next, quickly clambering out of the water into the canoe, followed finally by Mavena. A jellyfish idly swam past Assurrani, brushing him with its tentacles, but his leather armour kept the stinging strands at bay.

It took Assurrani and Lasatel about an hour to row the canoe across the lake, and they found a cleft in the bank where they could easily moor the canoe.

"This isn't a natural gully" Lasatel remarked, examining the five-foot-wide gully. "Somebody dug it out…"

"So it must lead somewhere," Mavena reasoned. "Given our proximity to Cyrodiil I wouldn't be surprised if this is an Ayleid tower. Watch for traps"

Assurrani took one of the oars with him and used it to probe the ground as the three walked up the gully. It was almost completely dark in the gully thanks to the shadows of the muddy walls and the overhead canopy, and at several points Assurrani found false-floor traps, covered with leaves, that no doubt concealed deadly spike pits. Carefully, he helped the other two to jump over them.

The gully eventually shallowed out and reached the same level as the forest floor, but there was still a clear path marked through the undergrowth. Glowing mushrooms and vividly coloured flowers almost seemed to light the way, and eventually the slopes of the dormant volcano loomed before them. Then, as they got close to the slope, they saw an opening in it – it looked like a natural cave, barely big enough for a person to crawl through.

"By the Gods, we've found it…" Mavena said reverently. "The Tree-Sap Tower"

As she spoke, Assurrani began to snap branches off nearby trees and pull down a large hanging vine.

"What are you doing?" Lasatel asked.

"Taking a few extra precautions in case we've been followed" Assurrani answered.

"You think they followed us all the way out here?"

Assurrani turned to face Lasatel. "As far as we could tell, no-one knew where this Tower was until Radash and Mavena figured it out. That includes the Selective. Following us will be their only shot at sabotaging this quest"

"Thanks for reassuring me, Falas" Mavena said dryly.

"Besides, our tracks won't be hard to follow" Assurrani continued. "So, if you wouldn't mind, can you give me a hand?"

After another hour's work, the three had rigged up a crude boulder-dropping trap over the cave entrance which would crush anyone who tried to enter behind them. They also had one other advantage – Ariel had foreseen a series of traps in the cave itself, and more importantly how to bypass them, and had written it all down on a scrap of paper which Assurrani was guarding with his life.

"Right, let's see what this Tower's got in store for us" Assurrani said, handing the piece of paper to Mavena. "I'll look out for anything suspicious"

Assurrani crawled into the narrow passageway on his hands and knees, a ring casting a magical light around him. He wondered how long it would go on like this for when the tunnel suddenly widened, and he could comfortably stand up.

"Alright, it's clear" Assurrani called back. "You can stand up just through here"

By the time the two women had crawled into the tunnel, Assurrani was scouting ahead. They could see that he had stopped about fifty yards down the passageway.

An extremely deep but narrow tunnel crossed theirs at an oblique angle. To the sides, it vanished off into darkness, but an ominous red glow and heat rose from the depths of the ravine. Lava. It was perhaps fifteen feet across – too far to jump. Assurrani examined the ceiling.

"Ah – handrungs. Mavena, is there anything about them?"

Mavena skimmed Assurrani's page of notes about the traps. "Yes, here we go. Avoid every third handrung"

Assurrani took a deep breath and jumped up to grab the first two, then just to make sure, he pulled down with one hand on the third – sure enough, it came away in his hands. Had he entrusted all his weight to it, it would have plunged him down into the lava hundreds of feet below…

"Shit! Behind us!" Lasatel shouted suddenly as she hurled a throwing knife back down the tunnel. With a loud clatter, it struck a skeleton in the chest and knocked it to the ground, the impact breaking the skeleton apart. But another was just behind it, armed with a bow, and fired before Lasatel could attack or disarm it. The arrow missed the helpless Assurrani by millimetres.

As quickly as he could, Assurrani clambered hand-over-hand across the rungs, making sure to avoid every third one, until he tumbled down onto the other side of the ravine, spinning around and drawing his bow.

"Mavena, come on! You're covered!" Assurrani called as he cast off an arrow, nailing the skeleton archer. Lasatel drew her axe and spun it around in her hand, presenting the blunt end of the head – the perfect skeleton-bashing weapon.

With a look of absolute terror on her face, Mavena began to swing across the handrungs. Two skeletons made a charge for Lasatel, but one was hit by an arrow from Assurrani. Lasatel lunged with her axe at the other, striking it in the chest and defeating it. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another skeleton archer taking aim and hurled her axe overarm – it flew in a parabolic arc before the blunt end of the head struck the skeleton in its skull, smashing it to pieces.

"Lasatel! Come on!" Assurrani shouted. Lasatel nodded and ran for the ravine, jumping up and grabbing one of the handrungs, tucking her legs up as a fireball roared underneath her, cast by a skeleton wielding a magical staff. Assurrani dived to the ground, pulling Mavena down with him, to avoid the fireball, then as quick as a flash he fired off an arrow – it struck the wooden staff and severed it in two, leaving the skeleton unarmed. As it reached down to pick up a bow from one of its fallen brethren, Assurrani nailed it with a second arrow to the head.

"Undead guardians" Assurrani said. "They were in the catacombs where Numidium was buried too"

"Undead creatures and traps?" Lasatel scoffed. "Sounds like an average day's work to me…"

"Well, I'm glad someone's got some confidence," Assurrani said. "Feel free to go on point. But bear in mind that we have no idea who built this Tower so we also have no idea what sort of traps they've laid in store for us"

Lasatel said nothing as Assurrani continued down the tunnel. _Treasure hunters, _he thought. _They haven't got a clue._

By the light of Assurrani's torch, the three spotted a round opening in the roof of the tunnel at one point, but night-eye and life detection spells showed that it seemed harmless.

"Keep an eye on it nonetheless," Mavena said as the tunnel began to slope downwards. Ahead, heat was rising, and the distant roar of lava could once again be heard…

Suddenly, Assurrani froze as the ground he stepped on receded downwards by a few millimetres. A hidden trigger stone. A loud rumble echoed from somewhere above them. Assurrani turned to face the other two.

"Run!"

The three bolted down the tunnel as a spherical boulder dropped down from the vertical shaft in the ceiling that they had passed and began rolling down the tunnel behind them!

The tunnel opened out into a shaft-shaped natural cavern, its base flooded with lava a few hundred feet below. The path from the tunnel opened up onto a wide balcony, where eight bridges stretched across the lava to the safety of the other side. It was obvious that all but one of the bridges would be booby-trapped.

The boulder would be on them in seconds.

"Mavena! Which bridge?" Assurrani shouted over the noise of the clattering boulder and the roaring lava.

Mavena had Ariel's page of notes clutched in her hands. "I don't know! There's nothing on it about this!"

"What?" Assurrani cried in disbelief. Then, in a horrifying moment, he realised that that was the point of the trap – to make one choose the wrong bridge under pressure from the approaching boulder…

"It's this one" Lasatel suddenly said with an air of authority, running out onto one of the bridges, the second one in from the right. With no other choice, the other two followed her – Assurrani stepped onto the bridge just as the boulder emerged from the tunnel, mere yards behind him, and rolled onto one of the other bridges, which collapsed almost immediately. The three guessed that all but one bridge was deliberately weakened to collapse under any sort of weight. The boulder, and the remains of the bridge, plummeted down the shaft and plopped into the lava with a gooey splat, before disappearing under its surface.

On the other side of the chasm, with no more traps apparent, the group stopped for breath.

"Go on then, how did you know?" Assurrani asked Lasatel.

"Eight bridges, eight Towers," Lasatel replied. "So I chose the one that corresponds to the Sixth Tower, where we are now"

"And you even chose the seventh bridge, taking into account the Zero Tower," Mavena remarked. "Good thinking!"

The tunnel continued to present the group with occasional traps – tripwires and handrungs, which they knew the sequence to thanks to Ariel – until the passageway opened up in a huge cavern and the three beheld the Sixth Tower.


	17. Glass

"I don't know if this is natural or if somebody built it…" Mavena Aryon said, almost speechless at the sight before her.

The enormous cone-shaped cave was sparsely lit by natural light coming through a small vent at the top of the cone. It almost seemed like a mold that the Gods had used to create the volcano they were underneath. A huge stalagmite-like pillar of rock sprouted up from the centre of the cave, reaching almost up to the vent before it stopped abruptly, but it was far from the most remarkable feature of the cave.

Green volcanic glass in its crystalline form absolutely covered the cave. It grew in large clumps of shards that looked like abstract bushes, made even more vivid by the distant reflection of sunlight, but on top of that, huge square-sectioned beams of the crystal criss-crossed the cave at all angles in an enormous green spiderweb. They seemed to be growing out of – and into – every single surface in the cave.

"Up there!" Assurrani exclaimed, pointing to the top of the rocky spire in the middle of the cave. One of the beam-like crystals clearly formed a bridge to it, and Assurrani could just about see an opening into the stalagmite itself… "That's where we need to be"

"It's a maze," Lasatel said, gazing over the incredible crystal formations. "An enormous three-dimensional maze"

"First one to the top gets a kiss from Camri Everlight, then" Assurrani said, jumping up onto a lightly-angled shaft of glass. "And watch your footing. The edges of these crystals are razor-sharp and if you fall onto one you've had it"

The other two decided to follow Assurrani up his chosen route. He soon discovered that the way up the maze of crystal stood out like a sore thumb – if one 'bridge' was heading towards a dead end, another would soon criss-cross it, leading higher up the cave. At one point, Assurrani had to execute a daring leap between two beams, the gap between which plummeted down to a huge clump of tiny but razor-sharp crystal formations – a very primitive spike-pit trap.

"It's funny," Mavena said as she jumped the gap. "The Ayleids were the expert trap-builders of the old world, but the Altmer had a habit of moving into Towers instead of building new ones – look at Crystal Tower or the Heart of Lorkhan. Maybe we'll never know who built this…"

"The Ayleids were always good at burying their secrets too," Lasatel added. "Even today, new treasures and artifacts are being found in Ayleid tombs…"

"You two, can you write a book about it later?" Assurrani called back. "Mavena, I need Ariel's notes again"

Mavena spotted the problem. Assurrani was stood at a point where one crystalline walkway branched into three, all of which led further up into the lattice.

"A hundred drakes says two of them are trapped," Assurrani said. "Have we got anything on this?"

Mavena glanced at the now-crumpled page in her hands. "Yes – the last line. 'Choose the path of Anuiel's End'"

"Great," Lasatel sighed. But Mavena was already deep in thought, thinking out loud…

"Anuiel is the soul of Anu, the heart of Creation, known varyingly as The Life-Bringer or The Light, and is often believed to be the sun. So Anuiel's End could be sunset…"

"One of the bridges does lead west…" Assurrani said, glancing at his compass. "Would you risk your life on it?"

Mavena nodded. "I can't think of any other answer…"

"Would you stake mine on it?"

"I… er…"

Before she could answer, Assurrani strode across the bridge. He, and the other two, all held their breaths until Assurrani reached the next intersection safely. As the other two began to follow him, Lasatel rolled an apple from her food bag up one of the other bridges. It got halfway along before a rain of spike-shaped glass crystals fell from the ceiling, thudding into the bridge – if they had chosen the wrong one, they would have been killed by the lethal falling crystals.

After what seemed like hours of climbing through the matrix of crystals, Assurrani came level with the bridge that led across to the hollow in the rock column. Now, though, he could see that there was a pedestal made from the same green glass that filled the cave in the hollow, which was illuminated by sunlight, shining through a hole in the tip of the stalagmite.

"I haven't done this yet," Assurrani said. "Do I just… put the stone in?"

Mavena produced the Sixth Stone from her backpack and passed it to Assurrani. "Camri said that that was what was done with the Mantella"

"Yeah, and this is where it went tits-up last time, so some cover would be nice, Lasatel"

Lasatel nodded, a hand on a throwing knife on her belt.

Carefully, Assurrani picked his way across the bridge until he reached the pedestal. The other two followed close behind him. As he held the Sixth Stone above the pedestal, he noticed two things – a hemispherical hole in its top, matching the size of the Stone, and the effect of the sunlight on the Stone itself. It seemed to make the glass orb shine with an inner magical beauty, radiating out a soft green-yellow light.

"Nice" Assurrani said, beginning to lower the Stone towards the pedestal, but a noise behind him made him stop.

It was the sound of a projectile – a sharp projectile – flying through the air then smacking into flesh. Then, Assurrani heard the slump of a body on the bridge behind him. One of the two Elven women had killed the other in cold blood.

Desperately, Assurrani assessed his options as he heard footfalls behind him. He had no time to put the Stone down and go for his bow or sword…

Assurrani swung around quickly, the Stone held out as far as he could reach. He made contact. The sound of breaking bone echoed around the cave as the heavy crystal orb made contact with _someone's _head and knocked them clean off the bridge. Only then did Falas Assurrani exhale the breath he had been holding and watch as Lasatel plummeted between countless gaps in the crystal lattice before she was impaled horribly in tens of places by a razor-sharp crystal bloom.

Assurrani looked down sadly at Mavena Aryon. Lasatel's throwing knife had struck her in the neck, right in her spinal column. She would have been killed as soon as the knife hit her.

"You deserved better, Mavena," Assurrani said reverently. "Thanks for all your help. You've done Morrowind proud"

Then, as he turned back towards the stone pedestal, he said something else under his breath.

"Fuckin' Selective"

At that moment, Assurrani realised the incredible amount of restraint Lasatel had shown, and remembered how nobody seemed to know where the Tree-Sap Tower was located, clearly including the Selective. Lasatel had fought _alongside _the others against the Selective in Ninendava when the group had acquired the Sixth Stone, then had accompanied the expedition to the Tower itself, waiting for the very last minute, the one moment when Assurrani had not been holding a weapon, to attack.

And so it fell to Falas Assurrani solely to place the Sixth Stone back atop the Tree-Sap Tower. Carefully, he placed the Stone into the recess in the pedestal, shying away as for a fraction of a second it glowed impossibly brightly. When the light receded and Assurrani looked back at the pedestal, he saw that the Stone had become one with it, welded itself to it, and now seemed to glow even more in the sunlight.

Now all he had to do was get back to Cyrodiil.

Falas Assurrani had met Camri and Ariel in Skingrad, when he had boarded the horse-drawn caravan they were riding back to Bruma. He was shocked to see them without Radash or Sartan, and they were as horrified to see him alone, without the other two who had set out with him.

"How was your quest?" Assurrani asked after greetings had been exchanged – they were all evidently very glad to see each other alive.

"A disaster. Yours?" Camri replied.

"Same. Lasatel was one of them. She nearly got me, Camri…"

"They're everywhere, Falas. I think the whole town of Alinor turned against us"

Only then did the reality sink into Camri.

"What are we going to do? Radash is dead. Mavena is dead. We've still got no idea what to do in Elsweyr and we're running out of time…"

"Optimism, Camri" Assurrani replied. "You'd do well to use it sometime. We're up against impossible odds, but we've managed to get all the Stones back so far, haven't we? I have faith that Captain Pasqual and King Jararka will have succeeded too… Ariel, what's wrong?"

Ariel had been very quiet during the discussion. "I'm worried… I haven't had any visions that are after the fateful day next week, the day of the Dragon Break. And the only explanation is that there _is no _future after that day, because we don't stop the Dragon Break"

Neither Camri nor Assurrani had a response to that.

"But I've proved myself wrong before," Ariel said eventually. "I thought I was going to die falling from Crystal Tower, but I avoided it because I saw it coming – and now I've seen the end of all time coming, but we can avoid it. Tamriel needs people like us, not Emperors who sit on thrones while the civilised world collapses around them. We can't give up now"

"I don't like the look of this," Camri remarked as the three ascended the stairs to Cloud Ruler Temple. Captain Pasqual and a handful of Fighters' Guild men were on guard duty on the battlements, not the usual array of Blades.

"They've been attacked," Assurrani said bluntly.

"I hope you're wrong," Camri replied. But he was soon greeted by an ashen-faced Jauffre, with King Jararka standing next to him, the glass tip of the ceremonial spear on his back noticeably covered in dried blood. As soon as Captain Pasqual saw the three entering the Temple, he left his guard post.

"Thank Talos some of you have returned," Jauffre said solemnly as the group reached the top of the stairs and the Temple's courtyard. "Please give me some good news…"

"The Fifth and Sixth Stones have been replaced," Camri said, "But not without great loss. Grandmaster, the Selective are mobilising big-time"

"I know. They're making their last stand. What do you think happened here? I'm all that's left – none of the other Blades survived"

"And the Chancellor?" Ariel asked.

"The Emperor came and took him back to White Gold Tower – he did not appreciate me keeping him under house arrest. I still don't know whether my hunch about him was right or not. Is he Selective?"

"Lasatel was," Assurrani said. "I understand what implications that has, but we should have seen it coming. If none of the good guys knew where the Tree-Sap Tower was, why would the Selective? That's why she was sent on this quest, to at best sabotage our replacing of the Sixth Stone and at worst find out for the Selective where the Tower is"

"I will have to send an attaché from the Blades to have some very serious words with Steward Aldaroth. I hope he did not _knowingly _place a saboteur in our team…"

Jauffre did not need to ask about Sartan, Radash gra-Moran and Mavena Aryon, for he could guess their fates – killed at the hands of the Selective.

"But thankfully, so far we have not failed. All the Stones bar the Second and Seventh are now home. King Jararka and Captain Pasqual were victorious at the Throat of the World, but again, not without tragic loss"

"They're vicious buggers, I'll give you that," Captain Pasqual said as he walked over, holding up his mutilated left hand. A leather strap had been secured over the stump of his severed middle finger.

"By the Gods!" Ariel cried, putting a hand on Pasqual's shoulder. "What did they do to you?"

"If this is the price we have to pay for saving the world, then so be it," Pasqual sighed. The ordeal at the Throat of the World seemed to have had quite a profound effect on the Captain – not only due to the vicious attack on him by the Altmer mage. He had lost an entire company of Battlemages, several of whom were his personal friends. The Argonians had also lost a good man, and Pasqual had seen just how far the Selective were prepared to go to ensure the end of the world. He could simply not understand their motives for wanting to destroy everything he saw around him, from content and advanced society to the beauty of natural Tamriel.

"I heard you were in here," Camri Everlight said as he walked into the study of Cloud Ruler Temple. The Dunmer seated at the desk before him turned round with a broad grin on his face.

"I'd recognise that voice anywhere, Camri!" Eldred Moravahn said, getting up from the desk. "You look terrible – I take it things have not been easy for you either?"

"You can't imagine, Eldred. The whole world seems to be against us. Even Cloud Ruler Temple isn't safe…"

"And Falas and Ariel? Are they here?"

"They are. They're two of the lucky ones. We started off as a large group, we who were to stop the Dragon Break. Our numbers have been decimated"

"Well, you've got one more now" Eldred said warmly. "Hey, I've got something for you"

Eldred fished a spearhead-shaped ingot of a bright red crystal from the pocket of his fur coat and threw it to Camri.

"Do you know what it is?"

Camri nodded. "The last point of the Chim-el Adabal. But I can't take it – I might still be in Elsweyr when it is needed atop White Gold Tower. That's if I survive at all"

"Camri, Grandmaster Jauffre has told me everything that you have done since our paths last crossed. You've defeated Mannimarco and almost completely destroyed organised necromancy, you stopped the wave of Oblivion gates that opened, you broke a prisoner out of the Ministry of Truth, you replaced the Third and Fifth Stones, _found _the Fifth and Sixth Stones… I cannot think of a better person to safeguard that crystal than you"

Camri cracked a smile. "Thanks. What are you reading anyway?"

"Trying to crack the Elsweyr riddle," Eldred said. "Bringing an Armiger's point of view to it. I think I'm getting somewhere too – probably enough to help you when you get on the ground out there with Za'hir. I know him – he's a good man, has a talent for thinking outside the box. Anyway, I think everyone's been digging far too deep into the historical records and ignoring the geographical ones. Look…"

Eldred led Camri back into the Great Hall and stood before the large map of Elsweyr that Jauffre had pinned to the wall. A large red circle had been drawn around the town of Orichalc.

"There's continued references in Radash's notes to 'The Islands Of Orichalc'. Now, look at the desert just north of the town"

Camri examined the map. He knew the area – he had been to Orichalc before. The deserts surrounding it were a maze of canyons and mesas.

"You're right" Camri said. "What are mesas but islands reaching above the desert floor?"

"Exactly! It doesn't help much alone, but I thought that the mesas held the clue, or at least a starting point. Look at this"

With a piece of charcoal, Eldred marked seven of the mesas with crosses. "Notice a pattern?"

Camri shook his head. Then, Eldred drew something else on one of the mesas – a tower, with a series of smaller towers around its base.

"It can't be…" Camri gasped. Then, as if Camri needed more convincing, Eldred drew a familiar shape around the marked mesas – the outline of Tamriel. Each of the crosses marked the exact location on this scaled-down map of Tamriel where each of the Towers was. The Imperial City stood in the centre of the map, with crosses in the centre of Vvardenfell, near the Skyrim town of High Rock, on top of Cloud Ruler Temple, just outside Falinesti, the Isle of Betony and the town of Alinor.

Then, Eldred drew one final cross on the map. In both scales, it was in exactly the same location – on the town of Orichalc.

"Incredible," Camri said reverently. "Does that mean the Tower is in Orichalc itself somewhere, then?"

"I'm afraid not. Za'hir has searched the entire town, including the sewers and catacombs, and found nothing. But there's a line in Radash's notes – I don't know where he got it from, but it's the next piece of the puzzle. 'I look up at the moon from the Second of the Islands of Orichalc. May nothing but happiness come through my door as I drink the nectar of the Lunar Lattice'"

"The Tower. It has to be…" Camri began. "So, the Second of the Islands of Orichalc would be…"

"This one here," Eldred said, pointing to the mesa that he had drawn the tower on, representing White Gold Tower, the holding place of the Second Stone. "At least you're not going into Elsweyr blind anymore"

Camri gripped the sliver of red crystal in his pocket. "We'd have been screwed without you, Eldred. It's good to have you back"

In the Great Hall of Cloud Ruler Temple, Jauffre eventually gathered what was left of the group.

"Grandmaster, it is with regret that I announce that I must return to Black Marsh," King Jararka said, the first to speak. "I have been in Cyrodiil for too long – my people need me during these difficult times. I don't even know what the extent of the damage caused by the Oblivion gates was…"

"Your Majesty, do not make excuses," Jauffre said, interrupting the Argonian King. "You have done far more to help us than you needed to. You have done your people proud, and you shall surely go down in the history books as one of the finest leaders of the modern era"

King Jararka bowed. "I wish you all the best of luck"

"Now, we must handle the matter of Elsweyr, and who shall go there for the next part of the quest. I know for some of you it goes without saying…"

"We've come this far," Assurrani said. "And a featureless wasteland – it will almost feel like being back home again…"

"The time has come to abandon Cloud Ruler Temple, for the time being at least," Jauffre continued. "The attack showed that it is no longer safe here. Eldred, Captain Pasqual, I want you two to stay here in Cyrodiiil. Go to ground in the Imperial City – keep an eye on things. We'll meet you in Luther Broad's on the morning of the Dragon Break. I fear that even White Gold Tower might not be safe by then – do what you need to"

Captain Pasqual nodded. "I have Battlemages trained in undercover operations. I'll check on how the preparation of White Gold Tower itself is going too"

"What about you, Grandmaster?" Camri asked.

"I've stood on the backlines long enough. I only truly felt a part of this quest when I was down in the catacombs with you. I'm coming to Elsweyr. Plus, it would probably calm Za'hir's nerves to see you accompanied by someone he knows"

"You're right, I never had you down as a remf"

"What does that mean?"

Ariel's face began to glow red slightly as Camri answered the question. "Remf stands for 'rear-echelon motherfucker'. Your friend Emperor Carius being a good example"

In White Gold Tower, an elderly Altmer gentleman was disturbed from his reading by a knock at his office door. His 'office' was in fact one entire floor of the tower, and served as a useful checkpoint for anyone wishing to reach the Emperor's quarters. The man was named Mephis, and was one of the Emperor's most senior aides – he had come on personal recommendation from Chancellor Ocato, being a member of the late Emperor Uriel Septim's court as well.

"Come in" Mephis called. An Imperial man in a blue Mages' Guild robe glowing with enchantment swung the door open and walked into the room, immediately clocking the two Legion guards in the room – beneath their ornate white and gold armour, he could see Elven faces staring back at him.

"Ah, Magister Aristus. A pleasure," Mephis said. "What can I do for you?"

Magister Aristus held a Varla stone, liberated from a nearby Ayeid ruin, up before him.

"I assume Arch-Mage Onstario has told you about our work. I think we're onto something – I just need to see the top of the tower. The guards tell me that the route comes through your study…"

"Yes, he mentioned you were in charge. A good choice – you were always one for knowledge in our ancient Elven cohabitors"

Then, suddenly, the door slammed behind Aristus, closed and locked by a guard on the other side. In a flash of light, a Daedric shortsword appeared in Mephis' right hand.

"Oh, you're fucking kidding me…" Aristus sighed.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you, old friend. We chose different paths long ago"

Just before Mephis slashed Aristus' throat, the Imperial whispered one more final remark.

"You are no friend of mine anymore, traitorous swine"


	18. May Nothing But Happiness

_Orcrest, Elsweyr, two days to the Dragon Break_

It had been a frustratingly long journey to the remote trading post of Orcrest, chiefly due to the lack of main roads – the only stone trail originated in Leyawiin, then passed through the town of Corinthe in central Elsweyr, where the group had rested for the night before travelling north through the savannah-like plains to Orcrest. Camri Everlight had at least used the time spent in Corinthe, a large and lively town, to finally wash, shave and cut his hair, transforming him from a worn-looking wildman to a rakish adventurer. Ariel had remarked that it would have helped if he had cleaned all the dried blood off his armour and sword too…

"Don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves," Jauffre said furtively as the caravan finally rolled into Orcrest. "That includes flashing wealth around. Time to have a whip-round to pay for this journey"

The other three all fished out handfuls of Septims and handed them to Jauffre, who passed them onto the Khajiit caravaner.

"Thank you," the Khajiit said in a guttural voice. "I hope you enjoy Orcrest – never known why so many people come here myself"

"It's a new part of the world" Jauffre replied, peering out from under the hood of the tan-coloured robe he wore. "We don't get to see enough of those"

"Traders?" the caravaner asked.

"Mining surveyors," Camri answered. "Spend most of our time in dumps like Vvardenfell"

Camri smiled inwardly, knowing that Assurrani could not visibly react to the comment he had just made.

"Well, remember to let someone know if you're going out into the desert," the Khajiit said. "A lot of people get lost amongst all the mesas and never come back"

The four watched the caravan load up with a few travellers and begin the journey back to Corinthe.

"What now?" Assurrani asked Jauffre.

"Be yourselves. Za'hir will find us"

Camri gazed around. They were in the central square of Orcrest, a town formed of squat stone buildings, mostly with open roofs to let cool air in at night. Rain was a very rare event in this part of Tamriel. Market stalls, built under canvas awnings supported by wooden scaffolding, littered the square. From one building, Khajiit citizens spilled in and out, and rowdy voices emanated from the glassless windows.

"Fancy a pint?" Camri asked.

"Thought you'd never ask," Assurrani replied. The group began to make their way towards the tavern. As they walked, a wiry-looking Khajiit approached the four. Instinctively, Camri's hand fell to the hilt of his sword.

"Excuse me, travellers," the Khajiit asked. "I was wondering if you might know the way to Riverhold? I understand the caravans run from there to Bruma"

"Don't worry, Camri," Jauffre said, grabbing Camri's arm. "This is Za'hir, the man we are here to meet. I hope we didn't stand out too much…"

"Get travellers in this town 24 hours a day," Za'hir replied. "But I hadn't expected you to be coming here personally, Grandmaster. It's good to see you"

"Likewise," Jauffre replied warmly. "Myself and Za'hir used to work together. We flushed out Dunmer kidnappers who were abducting slaves all along the south coast of Elsweyr. We caused havoc to the slave trade for a couple of years. Come, Za'hir, you must tell us what you have learned"

Za'hir led the group to an empty building on the outskirts of Orcrest – not his home, but a Blades safe house. Since only two Blades actually operated in Orcrest, it was nearly always empty.

"The mother and her Mane child are safe with the Imperial Legion," Za'hir began as soon as the group were in the house. "I know what must be done. The Mane must be taken to the Seventh Tower. If the child is truly a Mane, it will understand the significance, and this will transform under its influence to the Seventh Stone"

Za'hir held up a fist-sized crystal with an uneven grey-white surface, looking like it was made of salt. "Unrefined moon sugar. The very essence of space itself. But I do not know how we can find the Tower, only that it involves the consumption of a by-product of moon sugar…"

"Skooma?" Assurrani asked.

"No, it is similar to skooma, but produced and consumed so rarely that it does not have a name, although some call it Lunar Nectar"

"I look up at the moon from the Second of the Islands of Orichalc. May nothing but happiness come through my door as I drink the nectar of the Lunar Lattice" Ariel said, repeating the baffling riddle from Radash gra-Moran's notes. "So we have to go to the Second Island of Orichalc and…"

"Get loaded" Camri interrupted.

"Quite," Za'hir continued. "The difference between the Lunar Nectar and skooma is that skooma makes one see things as one wishes they were, but Lunar Nectar makes one see things as they truly are"

"We've made some of our own progress too," Camri said, unfurling a handful of maps. He and Eldred had drawn them just before the group had left. Camri explained to Za'hir what Eldred had discovered – about the group of mesas that mimicked the layout of the Towers, and how the riddle pointed to the mesa that represented the Second Tower – White Gold Tower.

"Fascinating," Za'hir said. "This cannot be coincidence. If anyone has doubt about the divine nature of all this, here is all the evidence they need – a map hewn into the very foundations of the world. I know how to reach that mesa – it is sloped on one end, a sand dune really. The going won't be easy but it can be done. There is one more thing, though. It must be nighttime for the Lunar Nectar to have effect"

It was the middle of the afternoon. They still had a few hours to kill before riding out, but instead of venturing out into Orcrest, the group remained in the safe house, not wishing to attract any undue attention to themselves.

As the sun began to set, the group made their way across town towards the Imperial Legion garrison in the town, a squat, motte and bailey-like structure built around a small central keep. Crossing through the gates, the atmosphere changed from the lively town to one of unusual calm. The night was totally still bar a few chirping crickets hiding in thickets of grass. The small garrison of Imperial Legionnaires patrolled the fort's perimeter in almost total silence. They knew to expect Jauffre and Za'hir – they knew what was coming the next day. The oppressive atmosphere was almost choking.

"Jauffre told me about your gift, Ariel" Za'hir said quietly to break the silence. The pair was walking apart from the rest of the group – Camri and Jauffre were in front of them, the ever-alert Assurrani behind them. "I've always wondered if man can truly see the future. If time in the past is set in stone, why not in the future?"

"I have always believed in fate," Ariel answered.

"So have I," Za'hir said. "We Khajiit have a different perception of space and time to other races. We are more in tune with it and approach it from a different angle. It is believed that my ancestors were not affected by the first great Dragon Break, that we were there watching it"

"But if that happened, why did no Khajiit _record _the events of the Dragon Break?" Ariel asked, a question she had pondered ever since reading Radash's copy of _Where Were You When The Dragon Broke? _at Cloud Ruler Temple.

"Because it would have been impossible," Za'hir said. "The very idea of a Dragon Break challenges mortal comprehension of the universe. I could describe a Dragon Break to you, but it would make no sense to you. To claim to understand a Dragon Break is to tell a lie, Ariel"

"Do you know what will happen if we do not succeed?"

"Not entirely, but I know it will not happen instantly. Such a great change in space – the undoing of everything ever built by man since the First Era – requires a great change in time too. The Dragon Break will start at the furthest reaches of Mundus and spread quickly. Once that happens, we will very rapidly be running out of time, but if we can keep all the Towers from destruction – maybe even just White Gold Tower if we act in time – we can stop the Dragon Break, and any of the destruction it causes. And if we're too late, well, time will stop. That's it. Everything will go black. You won't feel a thing, and that will be it. You will be erased from history"

"I have one more question. It has concerned me greatly. I have not had any visions of life beyond the Dragon Break. Does that mean that after that fateful day, history does not exist? Does it mean we are doomed to fail?"

"Maybe the future is written only up until that point, Ariel. Remember what a Dragon Break is at heart – a cosmic re-aligning of space and time, to right the fate of Mundus back onto its predetermined path. In two days time, the mortal world faces its ultimate test – either it stops the Dragon Break, or its branch in the tree of time comes to an end. Perhaps, from that day forth, no Elder Scrolls are yet written"

An Imperial soldier in officers' uniform greeted the five as they reached the gates of the keep.

"Za'hir, I heard you were coming," the officer said, also speaking in a hushed tone. "The child and his mother wait inside"

The officer led the five into the keep – a large hall made up much of its ground floor, and seated at one of two huge oak tables in the hall was a Khajiit woman, wrapped in desert robes, cradling a baby.

"Tsania, I apologise for insisting you be kept in the keep like this," Za'hir said, approaching the woman, who stood to greet the five. She looked upon them respectfully – evidently news of their achievements had reached her.

"This is my son, Dro'Nashi," Tsania said nervously. She beckoned Ariel to take the infant, wrapped in a light brown cloth, looking not dissimilar to a domestic cat.

"Hello, little one," Ariel said with a warm smile on her face, looking into Dro'Nashi's large green eyes. "Has your mother told you that you are to save the world?"

"What must be done, Za'hir?" Tsania asked as Ariel handed Dro'Nashi back to her.

"You must come with us out into the desert," Za'hir replied. "We still have one more piece of the riddle to solve, but I promise that you and your son will not come to harm. You should get food and water, but only enough for one day. We do not want to weigh the caravans down too much"

"Caravans?" Assurrani asked.

"Yes. What, you thought we were going to walk? I would have you come with us, Tsania. I do not wish to separate you from your son"

"Will it be safe?" Tsania asked.

"No," Za'hir said, "But I have utmost faith in these four to protect you from harm"

By the time night proper had fallen, the group were riding out of town in two caravans. Za'hir sat behind the reins of the horse on one, carrying Assurrani, Tsania and baby Dro'Nashi. Camri rode the other, with Ariel and Jauffre in the back. The caravans were made from light timbers, a basic frame with a flat bed and a canvas roof, with chunky, wide wheels that would not get bogged down in the sand so easily. As they rode, the savannah-like arable land that Orcrest was situated on soon gave way to sand, slowing the pace of the caravans slightly. It was a perfectly still and clear night, starlight eerily illuminating the huge rocky towers and mesas that littered the desert beyond them.

It took a few hours to reach the rock formation that Camri had indicated on Eldred's map, and sure enough, on its western flank it sunk down in a shallow slope to meet the desert floor.

In Camri's caravan, riding at the back, Jauffre constantly peered through a small telescope back towards Orcrest. Something he had seen had concerned him – a group of caravans leaving town. Most traders and merchants did travel around Elsweyr in large groups for protection against wildlife, bandits and sudden sandstorms, but as soon as Jauffre saw the convoy peeling off the main road around the desert to the town of Rimmen, near the border with the Nibenay Basin of Cyrodiil, and out into open sand, he knew they were not traders.

"We're being followed," he said evenly.

"How far behind are they?" Camri asked, turning his head back to face Jauffre. Ariel took Jauffre's telescope and located the convoy.

"A couple of hours behind us at most," Ariel said. "I know what's going on. It's just like what happened to Falas at the Sixth Tower – the Selective don't know where the Seventh Tower is, but they know that we are seeking to replace its Stone. They're hunting us"

"Yes, but we have the advantage of knowing where we're going," Jauffre said. "If they lose sight of us, they could easily get lost in the desert"

By 2am, the group had reached the top of the mesa, and been greeted with an incredible sight. The flat plateau at the top of the rock formation was perhaps half a mile in diameter, and _covered _with circles of small pyramid-like piles of stones.

"The next piece of the puzzle," Ariel observed. "What do we do now?"

Camri sighed. "Look around for anything that could lead us onwards"

The group began splitting up and wandering around the cairns, whilst still protecting the vulnerable members – Camri stayed with Ariel, Za'hir with Tsania and Dro'Nashi. Assurrani remained on watch at the two carriages, feeding grain to the horses that drew them from his hand.

After around half an hour, nobody had found anything that could be important. The stone circles had offered up no clues whatsoever.

"We're missing something," Camri said.

Ariel stood next to him, clearly deep in thought. "Remember what Radash said. The number eight is central to everything. There's eight Stones and eight Towers, and think about how many times the number has appeared"

"What do you mean?"

Ariel began counting off on her fingers. "White Gold Tower has eight lesser towers around its perimeter. Numidium was buried in one of eight tombs. There were eight paths leading out from Crystal Tower…"

"By the Gods, you're right!" Camri exclaimed suddenly. "Everyone, look for a circle made from eight cairns!"

It only took a few minutes – it was Za'hir and Tsania who located what they were looking for, a circle a few metres across, marked by eight small piles of stones.

"Only one way to find out" Za'hir said, producing the flask of milky-white refined moon sugar he carried. "I would advise against too many of us taking this intoxicating liquid, knowing who is following us…"

"Let me," Ariel said. "I want to see things as they truly are, as you put it"

With that, Ariel and Za'hir stepped into the stone circle. Za'hir took a few long gulps of the liquid, then passed it to Ariel, who did the same.

Ariel blinked, and everything changed.

Sand still lay beneath her feet, but it was soft and white, and before her was an endless expanse of azure water, gently lapping against the shore in front of her. The mountain winds had become a cooling sea breeze, rustling trees somewhere behind her.

"Ariel? What can you see?" a familiar voice asked from somewhere next to her. She could see Camri, standing beside her, ignoring the remarkable landscape she found herself in…

"Camri, don't you see it? The Islands of Orichalc!"

Ariel gazed around. Hundreds of small tropical islands, like the one she was standing on, lay all around. It seemed to be the only land for miles around, and there was no sign of civilisation – apart from one thing. A stunning white tower, glistening in the sun, was built on one of the islands, seeming to reach to the sun itself.

"What about the Tower? Can you see it?" Camri asked again. Ariel laughed, grabbed Camri on the shoulder and spun him around to face in the same direction as her, as she pointed at the tower on the distant island.

She saw Camri take a map and a piece of charcoal from a pocket and scribble something on it.

"The island that represents the Zero Tower" Camri said. "We should have seen it sooner. We could have saved ourselves some time"

"We must go, Camri. The Selective cannot be far behind us," another voice said. Camri looked Ariel in the eyes, a concerned look on his face.

"What are you talking about, Camri?" Ariel asked, her voice slurred.

"She's out of it" Camri said, turning back to Jauffre. "We're going to have to fight our new friends without any mystical assistance, I'm afraid"

Taking Ariel by the hand, Camri raced back to the caravans, the others all following him. Again, he leapt behind the reins of one of the horses, and then cast a glance to Za'hir.

"You alright to ride?"

Za'hir nodded. "I'm sure I saw the same as Ariel, but I can will the effects away. I'm afraid she may be hallucinating for some time"

"You take the lead, then. We'll keep the firepower facing backwards"

Jauffre and Assurrani climbed into Camri's caravan, Assurrani with his bow readied. Za'hir helped Ariel, Tsania and Dro'Nashi climb into his caravan, then began the ride back down the dune, Camri following close behind. As he rode, he peered down into the desert, looking for the Selective, until eventually he spotted their convoy, moving north through a wide gap between two mesas. Camri wanted to get back out in front of the Selective on the way to the Seventh Tower, since most of the firepower of his two wagons – namely Assurrani, was focused backwards. If he ran into them head-on, they would be sitting ducks. Watching the Selective convoy's speed, and calculating distances, he discovered a simple mathematical truth – it was going to be close.

The two caravans pulled out and headed north from the bottom of the slope, a mere two hundred yards ahead of the Selective convoy. A fireball roared from one of the Selective caravans, but Camri pulled skilfully on his horse's reins – the carriage pulled a sharp chicane, rolling up onto two wheels at one point, and the fireball skimmed past it.

"Falas!" Camri called back. "Get rid of them!"

"Ask me to shift the planet, why don't you?" Assurrani said to himself, kneeling down with a look of steely resolve in his face. He focused on the lead carriage of the enemy convoy – it was open-topped, and two Altmer mages stood in it, climbing its side railings to gain extra height. A ball of frost was cast by one of the mages, but Assurrani was quicker, firing off an incredibly-aimed shot which struck the freezing orb, detonating it prematurely and sending shards of ice flying in all directions. Then, with jaw-dropping skill, he fired off three shots all in quick succession, striking the two mages and the Bosmer at the reins of the horse pulling the caravan, all square in the forehead, killing all three of them. The horse whinnied and bucked up, drawing the caravan to a halt – the other four had to swerve wildly to avoid it. But then Assurrani noticed the inevitable – their caravans, somehow, were faster than his. They were slowly catching up. A Bosmer marksman appeared leaning out of the side of a covered wagon, firing an arrow at Assurrani, who dived to the ground as it whipped over his head, past Jauffre and into the bulkhead separating the bed of the caravan from the rider's seat – the head of the arrow stopped mere inches from the small of Camri's back.

"Jauffre!" Camri called back, pulling his bow off his back with one hand. "What's your archery like?"

"I haven't fired a bow for twenty years!" Jauffre shouted.

"Good enough for me!"

Jauffre caught the bow and pulled an arrow from Assurrani's quiver, just as another fireball passed perilously close to their caravan. Assurrani swore – he had been too busy trying to take out the troublesome marksman to notice the mage firing from another caravan. Jauffre knelt down next to Assurrani, quickly aiming and firing, nailing the marksman in the shoulder, rendering him unable to fire.

"They've got a lot of spell-slingers in that caravan… Shit!" Assurrani shouted, as he and Jauffre both dived for cover again. A bolt of lightning grazed past the caravan, ripping a hole through one side of the bed.

"Hold them off! This won't be an easy shot!" Assurrani said through gritted teeth, as he fired an arrow into a fireball, detonating it mere metres from the caravan. Jauffre nodded, as Assurrani noted a glint of metal flicking from Jauffre's wrist. The silver throwing star would never make the gap between the two convoys, but it didn't need to. It caught the rays of the sun as it spun through the air, flashing with reflections. The horse drawing the lead caravan bucked, alarmed by the bright flashing object flying towards it, and the caravan suddenly halted and jack-knived, spilling its passengers out into the desert. Two of them were crushed beneath the weight of the carriage, and a third unlucky man was run down by the caravan behind them.

But in the confusion, another caravan had broken ahead. Lightning volleyed from it, fired by two mages, peppering the ground all around Assurrani's caravan. One bolt nicked the rear axle, knocking a chunk of wood from it.

"Not good…" Assurrani said to himself. He managed to take down one of the spellcasters, but not before a fireball roared past him, past their entire caravan, striking into the canvas roof of the lead caravan rode by Za'hir.

"Fuck me sideways!" Za'hir shouted, leaping off the reins. "Tsania, I hope you know how to ride!"

Tsania nodded, handing Dro'nashi to Ariel and clambering around the other side of the bulkhead, taking the reins from Za'hir. Za'hir began frantically pulling at the straps that held the burning canvas roof in place before it ignited the whole vehicle. The pace of the caravan began to noticeably slow thanks to the sudden change of driver. Horrified, Za'hir watched the other caravan overtake his. They were now the main target of the Selective.

"Ariel!" Za'hir called. She looked up at him with glazed eyes, bearing a slight look of confusion.

"How can a caravan cross water?" she asked groggily.

"Can you stand?"

"I doubt I can walk on water…" Ariel began, trying to cast a spell on herself – water walking, before she sighed and slumped back down.

"Damn…" Za'hir said to himself. He finally cast the burning roof onto the desert floor, ducking to avoid an arrow which sailed high over the caravan, when the sound of a heavy bootfall caused him to spin round in surprise.

"Camri…"

"Jauffre's got the reins to the other caravan" Camri said, holding his bow which he had taken back off the Grandmaster. "You look like you need some help here. Just look after Ariel and Dro'Nashi"

Za'hir nodded as, much to his surprise, Camri kept running, leaping clear off the back of the caravan, landing on the desert floor in a forward roll.

"Why has Camri gone swimming?" Ariel slurred from behind him. Za'hir sighed – a Khajiit infant and a hallucinating Breton girl were hardly the passengers he needed right now.

Camri leapt to his feet and bolted for the Selective convoy. It was an almost-suicidal move, but he needed to do some serious damage to the caravans. A marksman and a spellcaster both appeared from the flanks of the foremost of the three carriages and hurled a volley of projectiles at Camri, but he skilfully danced past the attacks, spinning and pivoting his body to avoid them. As he got closer, he had to rely on his friends…

An arrow shot over his head from behind at wicked speed, thudding into the spellcaster's chest just as they cast a bolt of lightning, which went wide and zapped high up into the sky. Now only ten yards separated Camri from the caravan. The rider tried to swerve, to run the troublesome Imperial down, but Camri was too fast and nimble. Dropping his bow, he leapt up and grabbed the flank of the caravan with one hand, drawing his sword with the other and thrusting it into the spellcaster. A Dunmer, in the rear compartment of the caravan, growled and raised an enchanted axe, but Camri was too quick, carrying his momentum and driving his sword into the Dunmer's throat. From another caravan, a fireball blasted into the bed of the compartment, ripping a huge hole in its base and leaving it a smouldering ruin. Camri leapt to avoid the attack, grabbing onto the opposite flank of the flat bed of the caravan, picking up the Dunmer's enchanted axe as he went. Then, he looked up, and found a Dunmer mage, arms raised with licks of lighting flashing from his fingertips, mere yards away from him…


	19. A Blood Promise

Captain Larand Pasqual sighed as he heard a knock on his study door. He was supposed to be on the ground with Eldred, but his duties had called him back to the Arcane University. Recent events had left the University, particularly the Battlemages, in turmoil – the events at Crystal Tower, the loss of several Battlemages at the Throat of the World, and the disappearance of the senior professor Magister Aristus Barca, the leader of the project that the mages were undertaking to re-energise White Gold Tower. Still, the mages had finally made progress. Jauffre's document from the Psijic Order had repeatedly mentioned 'charged stars' and 'charged star children', clearly a reference to Welkynd and Varla Stones, but nobody could decipher the 'charged' part of the instructions, until purely by chance a mage carrying a Welkynd stone in the front pouch on his robe had leaned over an Ayleid well, the strange magical fountain engulfing the stone and causing it to transform, turning from cloudy blue-white crystal to jet-black obsidian. Eight such stones had been placed in wrought-iron cages found atop each of the eight smaller towers around the edge of the Imperial City, and that was when Aristus Barca was declared missing.

"Come in," Pasqual called gruffly, getting up from his seat and turning around. A familiar Dunmer face peered through the door.

"Ah, Eldred. Forgive the tone of my voice – what I'd give for a lie-in right now…"

"Tell me about it," Eldred replied. "It's not good news, I'm afraid"

An Imperial woman who must have been in her early thirties followed Eldred into the room. She was dressed in a regal-looking blue silk outfit with gold trim, but held a look of great sadness.

"The Lady Aleswell," Eldred said in introduction, "Battlemage Captain Larand Pasqual"

"Ma'am" Captain Pasqual said, bowing. "What troubles you?"

"Lord Aleswell was found dead at his manor home two days ago," Lady Aleswell said. "It was Eldred who discovered the body and tracked me down"

"Lord Aleswell," Pasqual said to himself. "He was…"

"One of the Emperor's most senior advisors" Lady Aleswell said. "And… my father too. The village which bears his name grieves"

"I am truly sorry for your loss," Pasqual said solemnly. "My Lady, go to the lowest floor of this guard tower, where you came in. Tell the Battlemages that I have sent you and that they are to guard you with their lives. You shall not meet the same fate as your father"

"Thank you, Captain," Lady Aleswell said, turning and slowly leaving the study. Once she had descended into the stairwell that led back down the guard tower, Eldred shut the door.

"This means one of two things, and neither of them are particularly reassuring," Eldred said. "Lord Aleswell rarely leaves his quarters in the Imperial Palace. His manor is not in Aleswell itself. Nowhere near it, in fact – it is a remote settlement between the City and Chorrol. Somebody would have had to follow him there to kill him. That means that either the Selective have infiltrated White Gold Tower, or…"

"There's corruption higher up than Lord Aleswell," Captain Pasqual said. "And you can't get much higher up than the Emperor's inner circle. And I'll tell you something else that'll send shivers down your spine"

"What?"

"I've read the reports of how the University's project is going. They've placed eight refined Welkynd stones at the right points around the City, but a similarly-treated Varla stone must be placed at the top of White Gold Tower. Magister Aristus had one"

"You don't mean…" Eldred began.

"Sadly I do. The last time Aristus Barca was seen alive was when he entered the Imperial Palace to make his way to the top of White Gold Tower"

"I think it's time we used your position as a senior officer to get an audience with Emperor Carius," Eldred said firmly. "Something is really not right here"

Camri Everlight was firing purely on instinct. He hurled the enchanted axe he had liberated from the fallen Selective man in his caravan at the mage who was about to cast destructive magic at him at point-blank range. The spinning axe seemed to go wide, momentarily distracting the Dunmer – he had heard enough about Camri Everlight to know that this was a very rare miss…

And then, just as the Dunmer unleashed his bolt of lightning, the caravan snapped backwards, snapping the horse's reins clean in two, as it came to a jarring halt, sending the bolt of lightning blasting harmlessly into the ground. The Dunmer spun around to notice that the two back wheels of the caravan had simply fallen off. Camri had thrown the axe into the carriage's rear axle, the sharpness of the blade combined with its fire enchantment cutting through it like it were butter. Camri's caravan, still with a petrified Bosmer at the reins of the horse, flew away from the ruined Selective carriage. One other caravan remained, but already Camri's vehicle was being pelted by arrows and spells, and was close to total destruction. Somebody else could handle it.

Camri swung himself around the bulkhead and carried his momentum straight into the Bosmer rider, knocking him screaming onto the desert floor, where he landed in a crumpled heap, bouncing along the sand. Then, Camri sliced through the reins harnessing the horse to the caravan and leapt onto the beast's back, leaving the caravan to trundle to a halt behind him as he spurred the horse into a tremendously fast gallop.

It didn't take him long to close the gap and reach Za'hir and Ariel in the back of one of his group's caravans.

"Get ahead of Assurrani!" Camri called as he rode alongside the caravan. Tsania, at the helm, nodded and whipped the reins, resulting in a sudden burst of speed from the horse. As soon as Camri was level with the carriage, as it slowly overtook Assurrani and Jauffre's caravan, he took a deep breath and patted the horse on the back.

"Thanks, friend. Stay out the way of the Elves"

Then, Camri leapt clear off the horse, grabbing the side flank of the caravan and pulling himself aboard, collapsing with exhaustion at Ariel's side while Za'hir leaned out of the other side, gazing in front of the caravan.

"Not much further now. The Tower is somewhere under this next mesa. Half a mile, if that"

Camri pulled himself to his feet and turned to look at the other caravan. What he saw filled him with horror.

A fireball glanced one of the rear wheels of the second caravan, the sheer momentum of the spell knocking it into a spin. The horse whinnied and bucked as its movement was dictated by the fishtailing caravan, but its panic was short-lived. An arrow thudded straight into the horse's forehead, silencing the creature in an instant. The caravan, with Assurrani and Jauffre still on board, came to a juddering halt and began to roll as shards of wood splintered from it.

Camri opened his mouth to call to T'sania to halt, but stopped when he saw Assurrani mouth something to him.

_Go._

Jauffre and Assurrani leapt from the caravan as it rolled, watching in dismay as Camri's caravan rumbled onwards without them. All around them, horses whose riders and caravans had been killed and destroyed fled into the desert. And then, there was the one final caravan belonging to the Selective, quickly gaining on them.

Assurrani's heart sank when he reached behind his back for an arrow. He had landed on his back as he had had leapt from the doomed caravan. Every single arrow in his quiver had snapped.

"Into cover! Quickly!" Jauffre said, leaping behind the ruined chassis of the caravan. Arrows pummelled it from the Selective caravan as the pair ducked behind it. Assurrani drew his enchanted Elven sword, whilst Jauffre did the same with his Blades-issue katana.

"All we can do is hold them off long enough for the others to get to safety," Assurrani said gravely.

"You handled yourself well when I saw you fight in the catacombs beneath Cloud Ruler Temple," Jauffre replied. "Godspeed to you, friend"

"And to you, Grandmaster"

Nobody on the caravan spoke until it pulled up outside a tiny cave entrance in the sheer cliff that was marked on the map. Camri knew, deep down, that he had probably seen Falas Assurrani alive for the last time.

"Camri?" a weak voice asked from next to him. Camri turned to see Ariel groggily getting to her feet.

"What happened to me?" Ariel asked.

"You were hallucinating," Za'hir said. "The Lunar Nectar. The Khajiit can resist its effects, but man cannot"

"You missed quite the caravan chase," Camri added. "The Selective caught up with us"

Ariel glanced around.

"We're here," Camri said. "The Seventh Tower"

"Where's Falas? And Jauffre?"

Camri shook his head. "Don't ask"

As Tsania dismounted from the horse, Ariel handed baby Dro'Nashi back to her.

"Thank you for looking after my son," Tsania said. "I wonder if one day he will remember this…"

"I saw something while I was asleep" Ariel said suddenly. "I think I only slept for a few minutes, but I remember it vividly"

"What is it?" Camri asked.

"That convoy wasn't the only one. There's two more groups of carriages, both converging in on this cave. They're both about an hour away"

"An hour…" Camri said, taking a deep breath. "We can be gone by then. Come on"

"By Akatosh himself…"

Camri Everlight had seen some impressive sights in his life, but none could quite prepare him for what lay at the end of the narrow tunnel that had led deep down beneath the desert.

It had emerged in a cavern – a _supercavern _– that was so huge that even a powerful magical light cast by Ariel did not fully illuminate it, the luminescence barely reaching the ceiling. The other end of the cavern was not even visible, but the group could make out that it was dome-shaped, at least several miles across.

An even more incredible sight stood in the middle. A large, ring-shaped lake, with a steeply-sloped island in its centre, led up to a tower that looked to be an exact facsimile of White Gold Tower.

"It's hidden, alright," Camri said, recalling Mavena Aryon's description of each tower. "And if I'm not mistaken, that lake is almost exactly the same size as Lake Rumare"

"Many of the towers were built by the Ayleids," Za'hir explained. "Just as their sacred chambers have many common design elements, it makes sense that their ultimate displays of magical engineering – the Towers – should have elements in common"

Ariel suddenly pointed over at the base of the Tower, where a large arched wooden door creaked open. Three Khajiit men in desert robes stepped out, noticing the group immediately but paying them little heed. It was if they had known they were coming.

"Priests of the Cult of the Mane," Za'hir explained. "They aren't even priests, really, just servants to the high powers of the Khajiit faith. Your friend Ra'Nal would have been one of them"

_Ra'Nal. _Camri thought, recalling the Khajiit who had joined them on the mission to Vivec. Yet another brave and compassionate soul lost during the ordeal.

In Tsania's hands, Dro'Nashi gasped and tried to struggle from his mother's grip, reaching with a hand towards the Tower. It was calling to him, calling the only living Mane back.

"Ra'Nal did not know of this Tower" Za'hir continued. "Nor did any of his other men. Nor did Dro'Jo'Na, for that matter. It is the most secret shrine in Tamriel"

"It's well-hidden enough," Camri remarked. "Come on"

As the group made their way down to the lake in the centre of the cavern, one of the Khajiit priests on the other side scrambled down to the bank and clambered into a rowing boat, quickly crossing the water to come and meet them. As his boat ran ashore, he made sure the others know he meant no harm by leaving his sword lying in the boat as he climbed out.

"My name is Ja'tilz," the Khajiit said. "One of the keepers of the Last Tower. And who is this child you have brought to us?"

"His name is Dro'Nashi" Tsania said softly.

Ja'tilz took a deep breath. "If you have gone to the extent of searching for the Last Tower, and my guesses of young Dro'Nashi's age are correct, then he was born during that rare lunar aspect. The Manes have returned"

"Not quite yet," Camri said. "There are enemies bearing down on us. The same group who killed Dro'Jo'Na"

"We had best not hesitate any further, then" Ja'tilz said, ushering everybody onto the rowing boat. With Ja'tilz and Camri at the oars, they quickly crossed the lake and met with the other two Khajiit priests, introduced as Ma'stal and Krivva.

"What must be done?" Ariel asked when the two groups had joined.

"If young Dro'Nashi sees the Stone and Tower as one, as they should be, then the elevated celestial understanding he possesses as a Mane should make them become one again", Krivva said. "I assume, since you are here, you have the crystal?"

Za'hir nodded, taking the large uncut crystal of moon sugar from his backpack.

"Yes, that should be sufficient," Ja'tilz said, inspecting the crystal. "Let us climb the tower"

Nobody spoke as the group climbed the tower, apart from one order from Ja'tilz for Ma'stal to man a slit cut into the tower flank that allowed him to fire a bow out of the tower – he had not forgotten about the other two Selective convoys that were inbound. The tower itself, like Crystal Tower and the tower at the Throat of the World, was hollow and featureless on the inside, bar a utilitarian spiral staircase, unsullied by so much as a guard rail, leading to a trapdoor in the Tower's roof.

The top of the tower was much like what Camri and Ariel had seen at Crystal Tower – a rather unremarkable piece of construction featuring nothing but a white stone plinth with a wrought-iron cradle atop it, big enough to comfortably hold the crystal of moon sugar, which Za'hir dutifully placed in it…

The unmistakeable sound of regimented bootfalls began to echo around the cave.

"It's the Selective!" Ariel cried. "They're here!"

Camri reached for his bow and raced for the edge of the tower, falling to a knee and scanning around for the intruders.

"Don't worry" Ja'tilz said, pushing Camri's bow to the ground. Before Camri could object, five figures ran into the cave from another tunnel opposite the one he had entered from. They were the usual mix of marksmen and light warriors, led by an Altmer mage. But, as the Selective were as taken aback in awe as the others had been when they had first seen the hiding place of the Seventh Tower, the Altmer mage's head exploded like a watermelon as he was struck in the scalp by an arrow. A Bosmer marksman somehow located the hidden sniper amazingly quickly, but just as he fired off his shot he was hit in the gut by an arrow that had originated from further down the Tower – Ma'stal.

"Retreat!" somebody in the Selective group shouted, before he was silenced by an arrow coming from a third nest hidden somewhere up in the rocks. The two remaining Selective men, both Dunmer, fled for the tunnel that led back to safety, but a Khajiit clad in black dropped down from a hidden recess behind them, two flashes of silver whipping from his hands. The two throwing stars hit the two Dunmer in the backs of their necks, killing them before they knew what had happened.

"We have had a long time to prepare the defenses for when this day came," Krivva said. "There are thirty of us hidden around this cave"

"We can hold ourselves against the other Selective convoy in here," Za'hir said. "It will be much easier to defend ourselves in here than out in the desert"

"Yes, but Falas and Jauffre aren't in here," Camri retorted. "I will not condemn my friends to death so readily"

"Look…" Ariel gasped. While the others had been talking, Dro'Nashi was struggling in Tsania's arms, trying to reach for the crystal of moon sugar that had been placed in the metal cradle. It had begun glowing with a dull inner radiance, which seemed to be growing brighter by the second. Then, Dro'Nashi fell still and began gazing into the crystal, transfixed, as though he was comtemplating everything – the rare lunar aspect that had allowed him to be born a Mane, the coming Dragon Break, the breaking of time and this Tower and Stone, one of many, that could stop it – the anchors of stability…

Then, there was a sudden flash of bright light that lasted for milliseconds. Everybody but Dro'Nashi reeled away from the crystal, but when they turned back to look at it it had transformed – it had become smoothed, abstract and geodesic in shape, and was now completely transparent, like an orb of purest diamond.

"The Seventh Stone tops its Tower again," Ja'tilz said reverently. "So Dro'Nashi really is a Mane. Tsania, you and your son will be the new saints of Elsweyr. The saviours of time"

"You have done me proud, my son," Tsania said softly as she held Dro'Nashi close to her chest.

"I will take you all back to the palace in Corinthe, where the Manes traditionally take residence," Ja'tilz said. "Or Dro'Jo'Na's old monastery if you prefer. There are tunnels leading from this cave that span all across Elsweyr. You will be safe there"

"No, I have to go and find my friends," Camri said. "Ariel?"

"My place is always by your side." Ariel replied. Camri turned to face the group of Khajiit stood before him.

"If the world does not end tomorrow, you should all travel to the Imperial Palace. I will see that you are all knighted for your services. Without you, Tamriel would surely be doomed"

Za'hir placed a hand on Camri's shoulder. "You are close to victory now, Camri Everlight. Do us proud. Even if you do not survive, your name will be remembered forever. Do not forget that"

"I won't, my friend" Camri replied, returning the gesture.

Falas Assurrani opened his eyes.

His gut burned with pain where it had been winged by a stray bolt of lightning. An arrow was agonisingly embedded in his left thigh, and his head throbbed with a dull headache – evidently he had taken a blow to the head and been knocked unconscious. He could hardly move. Looking around, he saw nothing but death. It had been a hard fight, old-fashioned melee fighting, but Assurrani was as skilled with a blade as with a bow. Jauffre, too, had fought strong…

Assurrani spotted the Grandmaster, lying in amongst the fallen Selective, and thought the worst. But then, he saw the soft rising and falling of Jauffre's chest. He, too, had just been knocked unconscious…

Movement caught his eye. Atop the mesa that the others had disappeared inside. A lone Bosmer had scaled it at some point, probably by climbing one of the many rock chimneys carved into the sheer cliff face, and was running towards a small wooden structure of some sort. Assurrani strained to see what the structure was. It looked like a cage, filled with football-sized boulders. Then, he looked down.

The cage was at the top of the cliff-face directly above the cave that Camri, Ariel and the three Khajiit had disappeared into. The Bosmer had run up there to open the cage's bottom as they left the cave, crushing them all beneath the falling rocks. Not even Camri Everlight could see a trap like that coming.

Then, suddenly, he heard Ariel's voice in his head.

"_I know that at one point, you'll have to make a shot, and everything depends on it, and you'll only get one shot at it…"_

It was a conversation they had had in Cloud Ruler Temple – only several days, but what felt like a lifetime previously.

This was it.

One shot.

Assurrani had seen a Bosmer marksman fall next to him, with a quiver of enchanted arrows. He fumbled around in the quiver and found that, like his own ammunition, almost all of the arrows had snapped in the shaft during the fall. But he found one that was intact. It had some sort of fire enchantment on it, so hot that it was making the steel tip of the arrow glow red-hot. Perfect – he would need all the firepower he could get. If he targeted the Bosmer, the cage trap would not be disarmed. If he targeted the cage and tried to prematurely set it off, the Bosmer would spot him and most likely take him down with his own bow before Assurrani could find another arrow. He needed a way of hitting both…

The Bosmer on the clifftop clambered up onto the cage itself to give himself a better view of the cave, and gripped a rope in one hand – the release mechanism. The rope was anchored over a pulley built on an A-frame above the cage, and then passed down to the bottom of the cage – if released, the rope would no longer be holding the trapdoor shut. The Bosmer had taken the rope, ready to release it as soon as he saw his targets – his preparation would be his undoing.

Assurrani readied his bow, still lying down. It was an ornate Elven weapon, a gift blessed upon him by the Daedric Princess Meridia, and he had a gut feeling that this would be the last time he ever fired the weapon. He took a deep breath and released the drawstring.

The arrow was spectacularly aimed, completing its long journey in mere seconds, striking the Bosmer in the chest, the fire enchantment igniting his fur armour like kindling. The Bosmer fell to the ground, screaming and writing, trying to smother the flames. He let go of the rope and a shower of rocks tumbled from the bottom of the cage, great booms echoing around the desert as they struck the cliff face and tumbled to the desert floor. Then, the cage itself, its wood bone-dry from being exposed to endless days of dry desert heat, went up like a bonfire, taking less than thirty seconds to crumble and litter the desert floor with burning timber.

Then, Falas Assurrani put down his bow and once again closed his eyes.


	20. For The Starlight

Camri Everlight gazed in horror at the sight that lay beyond him as he and Ariel left the tunnel that led out of the Seventh Tower's spectacular cavern.

"No…" Camri gasped, racing towards Assurrani and dropping down to his knees. As Camri shook him, Assurrani groaned and half-opened his eyes.

"Camri…" he said weakly. "You're still alive…"

"We did it, Falas! The Seventh Stone is returned! Come on, let's find an intact caravan and get you to a healer…"

"No, Camri…" Assurrani said, struggling to speak against his injuries. "My time in this quest is over. I have done all I can. I defended you so you could get to the Seventh Tower. I disarmed a trap that would have killed you as you left it, but I can do no more…"

"One Tower left, Falas!" Camri said desperately. "All we have to do is get back to the Imperial City. Don't do this to me, friend"

"I will slow you down, and time is too short for such delays. Evil will triumph. The world will burn. Everything that you, me, Ariel and everyone else has ever done will be erased from history. Don't let it happen, Camri. Go with Gods' grace. Remember what Ariel said? The world needs people like you, Camri…"

"Camri!" Ariel called from a short distance away. In his peripheral vision, Camri could see a group of covered wagons encircling him. He had been so distracted by Assurrani that he had not even heard them coming. Then, he noticed a distinctive insignia woven into the fabric on one of the wagons – the coat of arms of the Empire. They were friendly. Then, a figure whom Camri certainly did not expect to see climbed out of the Imperial wagon.

"Emperor Carius!" Camri exclaimed. "What are you… You need to be in the Imperial City! Doomsday is almost upon us!"

"I know," Emperor Carius said coolly, an ebony longsword in his hands. He strode up to Camri, just as, in one perfectly synchronised move, the twenty or so men with the Emperor leapt from their wagons, drew longbows and aimed them at Camri and Ariel. "That's why I came here – to make sure you don't leave Elsweyr alive. Take his weapons"

A Dunmer nodded and ran over to Camri, taking his glass sword and Elven longbow from him. Camri knew better than to protest. Meanwhile, an Altmer slipped a pair of enchanted manacles over Ariel's wrists, silencing her.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Camri said evenly. "Any other Emperor would have been _there _for his servants during a crisis like this. Tomorrow, the world will end, and you were probably sitting in your throne with a bottle of wine throughout the whole saga. It comes as no surprise that the Selective have corrupted you"

"They didn't corrupt me, you fool!" Emperor Carius boomed. "I joined them through choice! Ever since the fall of the Septim dynasty, the Empire has been a hotbed of war, poverty, civil unrest and corruption – enough corruption to allow a member of a doomsday cult to reach the highest possible seat of power!"

"Any _other _leader would have tried to sort that mess out instead of compounding it," Camri spat.

"I've had enough of you, Everlight" Emperor Carius said, his voice lowering in tone. "I am not going to kill you, because I want you to witness the event you have been working so hard to stop. But I'm going to imprison you somewhere where you will not be able to meddle with our plans in any way. And I'm going to _make sure _you can't meddle with our plans in any way"

With that, Carius flicked his sword, cutting a deep gash down Camri's right arm. Despite the agonising pain and the blood that oozed through the tear in his leather coat, Camri didn't react. Nor did he react as a pair of manacles was also slipped over his wrists.

But then, the Altmer standing next to Ariel suddenly pushed Ariel roughly to the ground, and then summoned a dagger, making eye contact with Camri.

"Don't even think about it!" Camri said through gritted teeth. The Altmer ignored him. Ariel cried in agony as the Altmer plunged the dagger deep into her thigh then roughly yanked it out. Ariel tried to crawl away from the vicious Selective member but was halted when he kicked her in the back. Camri struggled to free his hands from the manacles.

"Stop struggling or we won't be quite so lenient!" Emperor Carius barked. "You've already lost one of your friends. Don't make me kill another"

"What shall we do with the other two?" the Altmer asked Emperor Carius.

"Grandmaster Jauffre is still a servant of mine. He will make an intriguing little plaything to the Selective when he wakes up. I don't give a toss about the Dunmer. Leave him here to die"

Camri's heart filled with apoplectic horror as Emperor Carius turned and mounted back in his caravan.

"You are without honour, Namiah!" Camri shouted at the wagon. Emperor Carius scowled at Camri, mainly outraged that someone had not addressed him with the correct title.

Then, the Altmer – obviously a high-ranking Selective member – struck Camri roughly around the head with a club. Everything went black.

_The Imperial Palace, White Gold Tower_

"Welcome to the Selective's last stronghold," the Altmer said in a deep, booming voice. "To stop the Dragon Break now, one would have to reach the top of White Gold Tower. And since the only way up there is through the Emperor's private quarters, I have no intention of letting anyone through here"

The Altmer was named Mephis. He was a former member of Queen Camalinde's court in the Summerset Isle before the Emperor had invited him to be one of his own advisors in the Imperial Palace. He was Selective to the bone, wore a suit of Daedric armour and beneath his mane of black hair was the sort of face that could only have come from a lifetime spent frowning at people. Mephis was known for his ruthlessness and lack of tolerance, which is why he now had the Captain of the Imperial Battlemages and a high-ranking member of the Tribunal Temple of Morrowind held prisoner in the Emperor's reading room, the lowest room of his quarters. They had walked into the trap, seeing the four guards in Imperial Palace Guard uniform and assuming themselves to be safe – it was the same trap that the fool from the Arcane University had fallen into.

There were two quite alarming sights in the room. One was a large carving on one wall, featuring eight diamond-shaped hollows. Six had been inlaid with Welkynd glass, and a few hours earlier, in a bright flash of light, a seventh had appeared. Somewhere, hidden at each Tower, was a similar carving – it was a live record of which Towers had had their Stones replaced. Captain Pasqual and Eldred had breathed a sigh of relief when they had seen the seventh diamond appear – Camri and the others had been successful in Elsweyr.

And, slightly less reassuring, was the dead body of Magister Aristus Barca, still slumped in one corner.

"How high does the corruption go, Mephis?" Captain Pasqual asked.

"Did I say you could speak?" Mephis snapped.

"No, but I presumed that you would like to gloat"

Mephis smiled wickedly. "You presumed rightly. The Emperor himself is one of us. Can it go any higher than that?"

Captain Pasqual shook his head. "Tell the Chancellor that we are sorry. We thought it was he who was the corrupt leader of Tamriel, not the Emperor…"

Eldred, meanwhile, just sighed as dread welled in the pit of his stomach. There was only one hope of salvation now, and his name was Camri Everlight.

Ariel Lasaille opened her eyes and her first sensation was of repeated impacts on her back and shoulders, and uncomfortable cold. It took her a few seconds to fully take in what was going on.

Wherever she was, she was suspended above the ground by a rope tied to the silencing manacles that bound her wrists together. And water was pouring over her body from above – stinking, muddy water, drenching her whole person. Her thigh still screamed in agony from where she had been stabbed by the Altmer man who had been working for the Emperor. And, by the sounds of the falling water hitting rock far below and echoing endlessly, wherever she was being held was a very large space. The way she saw it, there were four ways to die – from starvation, from the rope failing and plunging her to her death, from some water-borne disease in the fetid waterfall, or of course from the Dragon Break...

"Well, this is a bad situation to be in"

The voice elicited a gasp of shock from Ariel before recognition quickly set in.

"Camri? Is that you?"

"Yeah, turn around"

Ariel flailed her legs, swinging herself around, until she saw Camri, hanging from a rope tied to manacles, just like herself, with a similar waterfall pouring over him.

Ariel cried in elation. "You're alive!"

"I think so… Are you alright?" Camri replied, swinging himself round to face Ariel.

"No, I'm cold and wet. Where are we?"

"Let's have a look. Let there be light…"

Camri's magical abilities were extremely limited, but a weak light spell was not beyond his capabilities, and he was not wearing magicka-sapping manacles like Ariel. The flare did not illuminate much of the space, but they could ascertain a few things. The ceiling above them was natural, made from a dark grey stone – they were in a cave of some sort. But the ropes suspending them were hooked around a man-made device, a simple stone aqueduct with two voids in its walls to allow the twin waterfalls to pour out.

"It's one rope holding us together," Camri said looking up. "Shit. If one of us gets free, the other one falls. They've thought of everything, I'll give them that"

"Did they take everything off you?"

"I think so," Camri said, wriggling around, trying to feel if anything had been left in his pockets. But, suddenly, he froze with a look of horror on his face.

"What is it, Camri?" Ariel asked nervously.

"The crystal that Eldred gave me," Camri said, unable to hide the edge of dread from his voice. "They left it in my pocket. They need it to recreate the Chim-el Adabal at the top of White Gold Tower. Eldred said that the Selective firebombed the only cave in Tamriel where the crystals grow. They'd planned this all along"

"We've failed…" Ariel gasped. "All we can do is wait in here until the world's end…"

"Eldred gave me the crystal because he had faith in me," Camri said, a sudden air of determination to his voice. "I can't fail him. There's one other thing they left on my body"

Camri then performed a gracefully gymnastic swing, pivoting around his navel and grabbing his right boot with his manacled hands, fumbling around inside it until he located the lockpick that he always kept in a concealed pouch inside the boot.

"You'll fall to your death" Ariel said evenly.

"I'm going to try not to" Camri said as he released his legs then grabbed the rope with his hands – the manacles around his wrists restricted the movement and the rope was slippery and glistening with silt from the river water, but his rough leather gloves found a solid grip on it. Holding onto the rope with one hand, he placed the lockpick in the other and began working on the small latch that clasped the iron manacles together. He worked slowly and with utmost care – if he dropped the lockpick, it would be their only hope of salvation gone. After a few minutes, the lock yielded and the manacles sprung open and clattered down into the cave. Camri then clenched the lockpick in his teeth and clambered up the rope, eventually tying it around his waist so he could once again hang freely from the rope.

"I need to get your manacles off, Ariel" Camri said, swinging over and wrapping his arms around her. They silently shared the embrace for a few seconds, glad to be properly reunited.

"I won't be able to hold onto it, though…" Ariel said sofltly.

"You don't need to. Just be ready to grab hold of me"

"OK…" Ariel said, struggling to hold back the nerves. She _really _hoped Camri knew what he was doing.

Then, holding the other end of the rope that was attached to Ariel's manacles with one hand, he once again picked the lock, pausing just before he tripped the final tumbler.

"Ready?"

Ariel nodded quickly. With one final jerk of the lockpick, the manacles sprung open and Ariel plummeted, carried downwards by the weight of the waterfall. She scrabbled on Camri's body for a handhold before she wrapped both hands around his belt, arresting her fall. And there they were – Camri holding one end of the rope with his gloves whilst hanging from the other, Ariel suspended from his belt.

"Right, now climb up my body and let me tie the rope around you"

Ariel obliged, and soon the were both swinging freely, no longer imprisoned by the manacles.

"Sorry to get your nerves going," Camri said finally, "But I'll need telekinesis in a minute"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to let us both fall, connected together by the rope. It looks about fifteen feet in length to me, so that's how far above the ground you need to stop me. Then, you can swing underneath me to the ground, then let me go. Unless you've got any slightly less crazy ideas…"

"Sounds good to me"

"Right…" Camri began climbing up the rope until he was just below the crude aqueduct that carried the waterfalls that were pouring over them, and spotted a lever connected to two chains. Without thinking, he pulled it, and a pair of sluice gates rattled down and sealed the channels, cutting off the waterfalls. He needed Ariel to be able to concentrate as much as she could.

"Ready?" Camri called down. Ariel nodded vigorously in response. As soon as Camri climbed up onto the aqueduct, the weight of Ariel on the other end of the rope pulled him over the edge and soon the pair were freefalling, attached by the rope. As they fell, Camri's light illuminated more of the cavern – he hoped that they were above something solid that they could land on.

Ariel suddenly saw the rocky floor of the cavern, covered in a thin film of water which drained away into a large subterranean lake, rushing up to meet her. Then, she stared at Camri, falling above her, and concentrated as hard as she could, trying to tune out everything – the rush of air as she fell, the almost-unbearable pain from the stab wound on her thigh, and of course, the underlying saga and the countdown to the end of the world. Eventually, Camri's fall was abruptly arrested and Ariel swung underneath him on the rope, like a pendulum. She could only hold the spell for a few seconds and had to release Camri. Ariel only fell a couple of feet but landed on her injured leg and fell, unable to support herself. Camri managed to land upright, buckling his knees and landing in a roll, coming to a rest by Ariel's side.

"Well, we're free," Camri said, untying the knots that bound them together. "But everything I said up there was bravado. I don't think we can do this, Ariel. I just didn't want to end my life hanging from a rope in some Godforsaken cave"

"What do you mean, Camri?" Ariel asked weakly.

"Look at us," Camri sighed. "You can barely walk, I can't use a sword or bow because my right arm's fucked after Carius stabbed me. We don't know where we are, and we don't know how long we were unconscious for. It could take us hours to reach the surface, then we have to somehow get back to the Imperial City, and to the top of White Gold Tower, which is probably locked down by the Selective now. Our team has been decimated, our headquarters ransacked, and they left Falas to die in the desert. When I saw him, he'd have an hour if that if he couldn't get to a healer. He didn't even get a dignified ending, Ariel. How can we possibly succeed?"

"Camri…" Ariel began, taken aback by his speech. "Our entire lives have been building to this moment. You know that. I must have been born with the power of foresight for a reason, and this is that reason, to help you stop the Dragon Break. I've been on the run from people who want to exploit me. I've come close to death countless times. I even got taken as a prisoner of the Empire, like you. They tortured and raped me in that cell, Camri"

She was close to tears now. "And you are saying that I should have gone through all that for nothing? How can we succeed? Because it's our destiny!"

Camri said nothing.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Ariel asked him. "How long was the first Dragon Break"

"A thousand and eight years" Camri said.

"And how long has it been since Mellengal performed the ritual that set the wheels in motion for today?"

"A thousand and eight days. But we know of that connection…"

"But there's another connection! What date were you born on?"

"The tenth of the eighth; the tenth of Last Seed"

"Put those numbers together"

"1008," Camri said, before a sudden look of understanding flashed across his face.

"No-one else can stop the Dragon Break but you and me, Camri. So don't do it for the Empire, or any of your friends, or yourself. Do it for me"

Camri crawled over to Ariel and held her in a soft embrace. "I'm sorry, Ariel. I'm sorry that I ever doubted myself. Now, come on – they dragged us in here unconscious so there must be a way out somewhere"


	21. When The Dragon Broke

It was first light on the day of the Dragon Break when Camri and Ariel emerged from a small cave entrance on the flanks of a hill, Ariel leaning on Camri's shoulder to support herself.

"It's so dark…" Ariel said. Camri looked around – she was right. Where normally the millions of stars in the sky would cause a soft glow in the night sky, there was none, just inky blackness beyond the nearest stars. At that moment, Camri recalled Za'hir's description of the Dragon Break – it would start at the furthest reaches of Mundus and converge on Nirn. It had begun.

Only then did Camri examine his surroundings. From the direction of the rising sun, he worked out that they were facing south. They were surrounded by undulating hills dotted with trees and shrubland, while to the west was a vast forest surrounding a taller mountain range. Southerly, they could see the sea, and a large ridge-like spit of land extending out forming a small bay.

"Where are we?" Ariel asked.

"Elsweyr still" Camri answered. "But much further south than we were. More or less parallel with Leyawiin, I think. Not enough time to reach the Imperial City by foot…"

"Camri," Ariel sighed. "What did Falas always say to you about optimism? What's that town over there in the distance?"

"It must be Sanchal…" Camri said, almost dropping off mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Ariel asked.

"Ariel, I know how we can get back to the Imperial City in time!"

The pair bought themselves a few hours' respite when they reached the harbour town of Sanchal, despite knowing that time was not on their side. Their wounds needed healing, cleaning out of germ-ridden silt that had penetrated into them in the cave. Shortly after, Ariel could just about walk on her own without Camri's support, but Camri's arm was infected and would need specialised medicine before all feeling returned to it – something that the lay healer in Sanchal's modest Imperial chapel did not have access to.

While Ariel was with the healer, Camri had disappeared into the town, carrying a handful of something that glistened brightly in the morning sun – it seemed they had been imprisoned in a disused diamond mine, and whoever had once owned it had not been particularly thorough when they had cleared out. When he returned, he pulled a barrow in one hand, filled with, of all things, crossbows. In the other hand, he held a clay pot with a matching lid, which steam rose from.

"Here," Camri said, passing the pot to Ariel. She opened it – it was filled with a lamb and chick pea stew and rice. "I've eaten mine already. I've always loved the food in southern Elsweyr and we haven't had a decent meal for days"

Ariel smiled. "Thanks, Camri. So, how are we going to get back to Cyrodiil?"

"I'll show you. Come on – one more ordeal, and then it's all over. Let's go and save the world"

Camri took Ariel by the hand and led her towards the gate leading out of town.

It took them about half an hour to reach the squat, round fortress further down the coastline on foot. When they got there, its entrance was sealed by wooden gate. Camro took a deep breath then knocked loudly. Much to his shock, when it was slowly swung open from the inside, he was met by a loaded longbow being pointed through the door.

"It's me, Camri Everlight" Camri said nervously, gripping Ariel's hand.

The door opened, revealing a stern-looking Dunmer with long black hair and a rough beard. "They told us you were dead," he said flatly.

"What? Who did?"

"The stories spread quickly," the Dunmer said, still not taking his aim off Camri. "They say you came to Elsweyr to save the world. But then an Imperial messenger delivered the news to Sanchal. Everyone knows your name, Camri. The Saviour. The defeater of Mannimarco. The man who brought peace to the Nibenay Basin. The Emperor himself told us you were dead"

"He left us to die," Camri replied. "The world is still not safe. The Emperor is corrupt. If I could just speak to Stijn…"

Then, the Dunmer suddenly lowered his bow and his frown broke out into a wide grin. "Stijn has often told us of you. Forgive me. He warned us that the corrupt may have found an impostor, a double of you. We have been told not to trust you"

"Charming" Camri quipped.

"But you know Stijn, that is proof enough for me," the Dunmer continued. "He told us how he had heard tales of you travelling with a beautiful young Breton lady. He was not wrong!"

Ariel blushed as the Dunmer beckoned the two in. A barrel-chested Nord, who had clearly been eavesdropping on the coversation, greeted them.

"Camri… Times are bleak. What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for some good news, old friend. Did you ever find it?"

Stijn smiled and nodded. "Aye, and she still flies like a proud eagle. She's all yours"

With that, Stijn pulled back a large black canvas that was obscuring the central courtyard of the fort. The pair gazed reverently at what lay beyond.

Ariel spoke. "Camri, you are the most ridiculously brilliant person I have ever met in my life…"

_The Emperor's Chamber, The Imperial City_

"This is the last hope of the free world, then?"

Captain Pasqual and Eldred Moravahn had spent the last two days manacled to the legs of the desk in Emperor Carius' study. They had not been given food or water – even if they had been able to escape, they would be too weak to fight. And when Emperor Carius had entered the study, their hearts had sunk. They knew the Emperor was a member of the Selective, but he dragged Jauffre into the study, gripping him by the shoulder and throwing him to the floor.

"What a pleasant surprise," Jauffre said hoarsely as he saw the other two. "How's your investigation going?"

"Not brilliantly," Eldred replied dryly. "At least he's let us live"

"It's nice to know that this treacherous swine can't bring himself to kill someone who's served him for so long" Jauffre spat, glancing at the Emperor. "And before you kill us, tell the Chancellor that I'm sorry"

"I will. But I must warn you that there isn't much time. An hour, if that"

Emperor Carius, still wearing his Imperial regalia, having cleaned most of the sand from his trip to Elsweyr off it, wandered with slow purpose across the room to the desk. Pasqual and Eldred winced, expecting him to strike them, but he just picked up something from a large silver bowl that was on the desk. It was shaped like a Varla stone, but made from a jet-black crystal which seemed to reflect light in all colours of the rainbow – as he spun it in his hands, flashes of colour darted across its surface as it caught light from the torches on the walls. Whatever the artifact was, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Only fifty feet stand between destruction and salvation," Emperor Carius said. "This is the stone that must be placed at the very highest point of White Gold Tower. I'm sure that if your friend Camri Everlight were here he would be doing such a thing right now, but sadly I left him, the good-for-nothing Dunmer and that wretched girl Ariel to die in Elsweyr"

"No…" Captain Pasqual gasped. Eldred just hung his head. It seemed the end of the world really was nigh…

Suddenly, the door to the study was thrown open and a tall, stern-looking Altmer strode in. Jauffre recognised him – he had seen him on the return trip from Elsweyr when he had woken up. His name was Methragar, Jauffre had learnt on the trip, and he was one of the Emperor's right-hand men.

"Mr Carius, a situation has developed on the rooftop. You'd better come and see this" Methragar said coolly.

Emperor Carius nodded and followed Methragar back through the door, which led to a spiral staircase. Jauffre motioned to stand up, but the four Imperial Palace guards in the room gave him a look with a clear message.

_Don't even think about it._

"By the name of all that's holy…" Carius exclaimed as he and Methragar reached the rooftop, where the other Altmer aide, Mephis, was already stood. Emperor Carius could simply not believe what he was seeing – it was a floating ship, heading at colossal speed towards the top of White Gold Tower!

"Deal with it!" Carius ordered, disappearing back down the trapdoor into the Tower's interior.

The basis for Camri Everlight's discovery had been a story he had heard in his childhood about a brilliant Breton scientist called Louis Beauchamp, who was fascinated by the machinery blueprints found in many Dwarven ruins across Morrowind. Beauchamp was most well-known for an airship he had constructed in the Morrowind town of Ald-ruhn and sent on an ill-fated expedition to the island of Solstheim, but he had in fact spent most of his life living in the town of Sanchal, where Camri remembered he had worked on several prototypes in a ruined fortress that he had claimed as his home, and moreso remembered that a childhood friend of his, a Nord called Stijn of Dawnstar, had vowed one day to find the machine. When he had set off, his closing words to Camri had been to come and find him in Sanchal if he was ever in trouble.

It was certainly not a very elegant-looking machine – it looked like a small fishing boat had been dragged ashore and had a huge fabric balloon and a few other contraptions bolted to it. There was an oil-burning furnace to keep the air in the balloon hot enough to provide lift, and two enormous fan-like propellers driven by steam power – one on the stern of the ship to provide forward thrust and another crudely mounted to the underside of the ship's hull to aid lift. A pair of ailerons mounted to the rear propeller could be shifted with ropes to change the direction of the craft's movement, which were attached to a ship's wheel.

The craft was also surprisingly fast, completing the journey back to Cyrodiil in under two hours, offering breathtaking views over the mountains, plains and mesa-filled deserts of Elsweyr.

When the pair had neared White Gold Tower, Camri gave Ariel a crash course in how to steer the vessel.

"Bring her in close," Camri ordered. "And get ready to jump when I say so. I'm afraid this bird's making her last flight"

Camri knew that Ariel was weak. The last few weeks had been an ordeal for her, and she was still recovering from her wounds and severe fatigue. But she didn't have to hold out for much longer…

Then, Camri rushed to the bow of the ship, where he had left the pile of crossbows he had bought in Sanchal earlier on. They were all loaded and ready to fire one bolt each – it was the only weapon he could use with only his left hand.

Camri grabbed one of the crossbows and whipped it up, firing a snap-shot at the top of the tower. It went wide, but forced Methragar and Mephis to jump for cover. Mephis returned with a bolt of lightning which ripped a large hole in the hull of the ship, but it was superficial damage – the airship kept on its course. Camri threw the crossbow down and picked up another, already loaded, and fired it, this time winging Methragar in the shin. Methragar returned fire with a fireball which roared into the balloon suspending the airship but bounced off whatever the balloon was made from – another marvel of Dwarven engineering – and flew high up into the sky.

"Right, follow me!" Camri called back to Ariel. "Leave the controls!"

With that, Camri leapt over the bow of the ship, a loaded crossbow in each hand, and fired as he landed on the roof of White Gold Tower. Both shots found their targets – one hit Mephis in the forehead as he squared up to Camri, the other striking the wounded Methragar in the throat as he lay on the ground.

Camri didn't stop running, turning around and throwing the ingot of red crystal to Ariel as she followed Camri off the ship.

"Get to work, I've got some scores to settle!" Camri called back as he grabbed a silver shortsword and a bunch of keys from Mephis' dead body.

Ariel took a deep breath as she watched the airship, its controls magically jammed in place, lumbering northwards with nobody at the wheel. It would eventually crash-land in the flanks of the Jerall Mountains in a billowing explosion.

Only then did Ariel gaze at the structure that topped White Gold Tower. It was a cone-shaped frame made from wrought iron, with a familiar-looking cradle at its peak. At the base of the frame, in its very centre, was an absolutely beautiful eight-pointed star crafted in blood-red crystal – the Chim-el Adabal, the very gemstone that the Amulet of Kings was forged from. Indeed, Ariel could see the where the ninth point of the star had been removed to create the Amulet. Gripping the crystal Camri had given her, the new ninth point, Ariel began to climb the metal frame.

"Does that man ever stop thinking of ways to bother me?" Carius snarled to himself as he stormed back into his study, the four Palace guards still keeping watch over his prisoners. Eldred, Pasqual and Jauffre all perked up at his words. Did he mean Camri? Carius seemed to read their minds.

"Who else would commandeer a Dwarven airship to get himself back here? He has been a worthy adversary, I'll give him that. I imagine he will come down here to try and rescue you three, but I'm afraid he will be too late. Kill them all…"

Carius' order was interrupted as the door was thrown open and Camri bounded into the room.

"Selective!" he shouted accusingly, pointing at Carius.

"We know," Eldred said dryly.

Camri raced towards Eldred and Captain Pasqual, throwing his liberated sword to Jauffre as he ran. Jauffre caught the blade as the four guards began converging on himself and Camri. The Grandmaster may have been unarmoured compared to the guards' ornate silver and steel armour but he was an incredibly skilled bladesman. As one guard lunged at him with a downstroke he darted to one side to avoid it and ran straight past the guard, trailing his blade as he ran and slicing the guard's throat. But the second guard was ready, blocking Jauffre's attack with a shield and sending him into recoiling shock.

Camri fell down at the side of Pasqual and Eldred, undoing Pasqual's manacles with Mephis' keys first – Pasqual's response was instantaneous, blasting a guard with a fireball a fraction of a second before he drove his sword into Camri's back. He then summoned a sword and began parrying with the final guard, also more prepared after seeing his comrade falling.

Just as the clasp on Eldred's manacles clicked open, Emperor Carius began to bound across the room, his ceremonial ebony shortsword in his hand. Camri grabbed a fallen guard's Legion-issue blade and threw it up just in time to block the Emperor's first blow. The Emperor slashed wildly with the sword – it was clear that he was not an experienced swordsman, and Camri, even with his injured right arm, managed to dodge or block all his attacks. Eventually, Carius realised that trying to fight Camri was futile and leapt backwards to his desk, picking up the black Varla stone and holding it high above his head.

"Take a step further and I'll shatter it on the floor!" Carius bellowed. "And you know full well that you don't have time to source another!"

As Jauffre and Pasqual finally defeated the other two guards, silence and stillness fell across the room. Nobody dared approach the crazed Emperor…

Suddenly, Emperor Carius roared in pain as blood burst in a fountain from his thigh, the stub of a crossbow bolt embedded inside.

"Get ready to watch the end of the world!" Carius cried as he hurled the priceless Varla stone downwards as hard as he could…

Millimetres from it hitting the ground, it was snatched away by telekinesis, flying towards the door leading upwards to the tower roof and straight into Ariel's left hand – she held a crossbow in the other.

"Nice shot, Ariel" Camri said, stepping forwards and punching the Emperor as hard as he could in the face, knocking him into a daze. Ariel stepped out into the room.

"Sorry, Camri, I know you told me to stay on the roof, but… I needed this stone"

"You saved the day, Ariel!" Camri replied. "Come on, let's end this"

Camri then turned to face his three friends. "Are you all up to fighting?"

"As much as we'll ever be," Captain Pasqual said. "What have you got in mind?"

"We're into the endgame now. Every Selective member in the city will be converging on the Palace at this very moment. Hold them off"

Captain Pasqual nodded. "I won't let you down. If I don't see you again, it's been an honour"

"Likewise," Eldred added.

"Hey, I'm not planning on dying any time soon" Camri said. "Are you?"

Eldred smiled nervously at Camri as the three raced out of the room, towards the stairwell that led back down into the Palace.

"As for you," Camri said, turning to the Emperor, looking somewhat pathetic lying on the ground with blood pouring from his nose and thigh, "I want you to personally see your plan failing"

Camri hauled the Emperor to his feet and dragged him, following Ariel back into the stairwell up to the tower roof.

Words could not express the sight that greeted the three as they got back onto the roof of White Gold Tower.

The sky had turned completely black. The sun, the patchy clouds from the crisp morning, had all gone, although the ground was still lit as though it were daylight. And worst of all, the darkness seemed to be getting nearer, encroaching on them.

Emperor Carius cackled wickedly. "Welcome to the end of the world. In mere minutes the Dragon Break will hit the top of White Gold Tower and destroy the mechanism to re-energise it, then there will be nothing you can do. The end of thousands of years of corrupt, selfish rulers lording over an ignorant and complacent populace…"

"Enjoy the view from the ground, Namiah," Camri said suddenly, and shoved Emperor Carius clean off the edge of White Gold Tower!

"Look out!" Ariel suddenly cried from somewhere by the cone-shaped metal lattice in the centre of the roof, but it was not in time. Camri suddenly felt himself be thrown to the side by a massive weight slamming into him, and then he, too, was freefalling from White Gold Tower, the stone causeway of Green Emperor Way rushing up to meet him. So this was how the quest would end for him.

Ariel watched Camri falling in horror, and then glanced up. She could almost _see _the wavefront of the Dragon Break descending on Tamriel, and all around, the peaks of mountains higher than the Tower were disappearing, transforming into nothing but inky blackness. The destruction of reality. She had mere seconds to climb the lattice and put the Varla Stone in place, but seeing Camri fall had presented her with a heart-wrenching dilemma.

Save Camri, or save the world.

Voices echoed around the tower top, but she tried to tune them out.

"_I knew it! I was right all along! I can't believe I ever trusted you, you traitorous pig!"_

Then, Ariel made her fateful decision.

"I can hear footfalls. They're coming"

Eldred Moravahn bounded up the staircase back to the Emperor's study. He had gone on ahead as a scout while Captain Pasqual and Jauffre constructed a barricade across the door with whatever furniture they could find in the study.

"Gentlemen, I have another matter to attend to," Jauffre said suddenly. "I have confidence that you don't need me to help with the defense. It's the Chancellor – he is suspiciously absent. I'm going to go and find him. Godspeed to you both"

Eldred leapt over the barricade about ten seconds ahead of two Dunmer Selective warriors, but Pasqual blasted the lead man with a bolt of lightning, sending them both tumbling back down the stairwell.

"See you on the other side, Grandmaster!" Eldred called. "Keep yourself out of trouble!"

Ariel Lasaille placed the glittering black Varla stone in its cradle atop the wrought-iron frame then was thrown off it by the sheer force of what happened next.

It was as if the entire Imperial City came alive. From the eight smaller Towers around the city, from the treated Welkynd stones placed atop their spires, thick beams of bright white energy lanced upwards and struck the Varla stone, which began to whine with a high-pitched resonance for a second or so before an even brighter beam blasted into the Chim-el Adabal. Ariel had to shield her eyes away from what was happening, but when it subsided, she could see that the two pieces of the Chim-el Adabal had magically become one again, welded together by the force of the energy that had struck them.

Then, a fraction of a second after the lightshow had stopped, a thick purple ray of magicka began to radiate from the Chim-el Adabal and soar skywards, into the approaching wall of blackness. Although she could not see it, all around Tamriel, the same was happening – at Direnni Tower in High Rock, at Red Mountain in Vvardenfell, at Cloud Ruler Temple, Crystal Tower in Alinor, the Throat of the World in Skyrim, a dormant volcano in Valenwood and the Hidden Tower in Elsweyr, identical beams of purple light were radiating to the heavens, pushing back the Dragon Break. In the case of the Towers which were hidden underground, the light seemed to simply permeate straight through whatever rock, soil or masonry was in the way.

The Dragon Break's progress was slowing, but then, the very tip of the Varla stone atop White Gold Tower disappeared as it was touched by blackness…

"Not now…" Ariel gasped. "Not this close to the end…"

But then, there was a brilliant, all-encompassing flash of white light that seemed to emanate from the very bowels of Nirn itself, and then, stillness.

The sky turned a soft blue, punctuated with wisps of cloud. To the southeast, the sun shone brightly. The mountains whose tops had been swallowed by darkness were whole again. The Dragon Break had been stopped.

"Ariel! Ariel, are you alright?"

A voice startled Ariel back into reality. A familiar voice. Jauffre's face leaned over hers, helping her to her feet. He had a wide grin on his face.

"You did it, Ariel! The Dragon Break has been averted, the Selective defeated. Gaze out over the free world once again"

Ariel paused momentarily, taking in everything that had happened. She saw a dead body in grand-looking red robes lying on its chest, a large bloody wound in the victim's back. It was Chancellor Ocato.

"It was him who pushed Camri off the edge of the Tower," Jauffre explained. "He showed his true colours at the eleventh hour. I knew I was right about him…"

"Camri. Where is he?" Ariel asked suddenly. "Is he alright?"

Camri Everlight had watched the repelling of the Dragon Break in awe, lying on his back on Green Emperor Way, the body of Emperor Namiah Carius next to him, mashed to a bloody pulp by the impact. He had laughed in elation as he realised that Ariel must have stopped the Dragon Break, but how was he alive?

All he could remember was the briefest slowing in his descent just before he hit the ground. What had actually happened was that Ariel had deviated from her path to the tower top for just long enough to glance over the edge of the tower and apply the briefest tug of telekinesis, just enough to arrest his fall so he could survive the landing.

Camri leapt to his feet and bolted for the palace entrance, and kept running all the way up through countless restricted areas until he was in the Tower itself, bounding up the spiral staircase that led to the Emperor's quarters. He happened upon a few Selective men fighting Pasqual and Eldred – aided by Camri gathering a sword from a fallen Bosmer, they quickly overcame the enemy.

"Camri!" Eldred exclaimed. "Did you do it?"

Camri shook his head. "No, but Ariel did. You can lay down your weapons now – the world is safe"

Captain Pasqual smiled warmly. "It truly is an honour to know you both, Camri"

Camri climbed over the barricade and stood between his two friends. "It wasn't just us. You two, and countless others, played your own important roles in this quest. Without you, the world would have been destroyed. Come on – I want to know who else survived"

At that moment, Ariel and Jauffre entered the study, having descended from the roof. Ariel ran straight into Camri's arms as they held each other in a warm embrace.

"You've done me proud, Ariel" Camri said softly.

"It was Chancellor Ocato," Jauffre said, approaching Camri. "He pushed you off the tower. He was with them all along. He's probably the one who sent the Emperor to Elsweyr to come and find you. Out of interest, how did you get back?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Jauffre," Camri replied. "I'll save it for the tavern – I don't know about you but I could murder a pint!"


	22. Epilogue

The next few days in Tamriel were turbulent to say the least. With the deaths of both Emperor Carius and Chancellor Ocato, it fell to Grandmaster Jauffre to address the citizens of Tamriel, explaining to them everything that had happened on that fateful day when the Dragon broke.

In the coming days, a continent-wide inquisition began to root out any remaining members of the Selective. The most widespread and disturbing corruption was found in the royal court of High Rock – Queen Camalinde herself was not Selective, but almost all of her court were, and they had in fact imprisoned her the moment the first Oblivion gates had opened, marking the beginning of the saga. A force composed of Imperial Legionnaires and Battlemages stormed the castle and freed the Queen, executing every Selective member who opposed them.

After this, Queen Camalinde journeyed to the Imperial City, along with the rulers of all the other provinces of Tamriel, where a great council was held to discuss what should become of the continent. It was agreed that, without an Emperor or even a Chancellor, the Empire should be formally dissolved and Tamriel ruled instead by a senate composed of the provincial rulers – its elected figurehead was the fearless Argonian King Jararka, voted into power for his bravery and aid during the Dragon Break. Steward Aldaroth of Valenwood also issued a public statement of regret that he had allowed Lasatel, a Selective member, to infiltrate the group and murder Mavena Aryon. He explained that he genuinely had no idea of Lasatel's true allegiance, and was as surprised as everyone else when she had suddenly turned on those she had fought alongside for so long.

A state funeral was held in Green Emperor Way for all those killed trying to prevent the Dragon Break – Ra'Nal and his Khajiit monks, as well as Dro'Jo'Na, the Mane who they had died defending; the scholars Radash gra-Moran and Mavena Aryon; Sartan and all the other Blades killed during the raid on Cloud Ruler Temple; the Argonian agent Gajin and the Battlemages killed at the Throat of the World; Magister Aristus Barca; and finally Falas Assurrani, whose body had been recovered by a search party sent to Elsweyr under Camri's order. Grandmaster Jauffre, Captain Larand Pasqual and Eldred Moravahn were all honoured for their services to Tamriel and its people, as were Za'hir and the other Khajiit priests living in the Seventh Tower.

As for Camri Everlight and Ariel Lasaille, they decided to take time away from everything – Ariel was given a house in the village of Weye, whilst Camri moved to Bruma. They needed time to settle down and re-adjust to reality after a quest that they had spent their entire lives bound to in some way. The night after the Dragon Break, Ariel slept soundly for the first time in countless years, her sleep not once interrupted by a vision or prophetic dream.

Camri, however, embarked on one final quest alone. He journeyed to the abandoned Cloud Ruler Temple and into its catacombs, overcoming the traps there and reaching the innermost shrine, where Numidium's torso was buried, and removed the Mantella from its heart. He figured that, given all the help that several Daedra had given him throughout his life, it would not be entirely practical to _totally _seal the gates between Mundus and Oblivion…

And finally, although nobody noticed it for some time, another transformation took place. In the Emperor's study in the Imperial Palace was the enchanted wall carving showing which Towers and their counterpart Stones were active. For the first time in aeons, all eight recesses were filled by beautiful, glittering crystals.

**_-The End-_**

_**-of-**_

_**-When The Dragon Broke-**_


	23. We Call Upon The Author To Explain

In this story I have referenced a lot of the more unknown and esoteric parts of Tamrielic lore, and obviously some of it I have made up – there could be more Towers and Stones, and what information exists on the ones I discussed in this story is pretty flimsy to say the least!

The underlying problem, too, is based on fact. There is a global conspiracy in Tamriel to destroy the Stones one by one, a conspiracy dating back to dawn-time. Perhaps one day this will form the basis of the storyline for an Elder Scrolls game – it would be interesting to see how it compares to mine! The prequel to this story, The Daedric Child, just proves how somebody can pull the strings to turn a 'good' quest into something aiding a doomsday scenario.

I would quickly like to thank the good folk at the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, where I read a short article that planted the seed for the idea for this story, in particular Guy No. 2 who furnished me with all sorts of useful articles relating to Dragon Breaks and the Stones and Towers. Here is some further reading, for anybody who is interested…

The Nu-Hatta Transcript and its subsequent summary sheet are a set text on the matter.

As Radash gra-Moran mentions numerous times (it is his favourite book, after all!) 'Where Were You When The Dragon Broke?' details the history of the original incident and outlines the Khajiit people's unique relationship to the Lunar Lattice. Both of the above texts are available at the Imperial Library - this site does not allow links but Google exists for a reason...

The books _Liminal Bridges_ and _The Lunar Lorkhan_ also proved very useful (available from all good booksellers) as well as countless texts on geographical, political and religious history. Navigate your character to First Edition Books and see what you can find!


End file.
